Dance!
by Naia
Summary: AU Hogwarts is the most famous ballet school of Europe, and Hermione is proud to be part of its graduating class. But this year, the young prodigy Harry Potter, son of two ballet stars is coming to Hogwarts... This is a year everyone will remember.
1. Default Chapter

Prologue

Hermione Granger sat straight in her compartment as she drowned herself in the adventures of Frodon, Gandalf, Aragorn and all of Tolkien's characters.

She had boarded the Hogwarts' Express as she had done for the past six years; the train was now bringing her to Hogwarts ballet's school, one of the most famous ballet school. Students graduating from there were always sought after and usually found place in the best companies over the world. Hermione looked out of the window, staring at the country side. 

She had been dancing since she was five year- old. And entering Hogwart had always been her greatest dream. And now, here she was, entering her last year at the school. She sighed. She was a good dancer she knew that, even if she didn't show it she had one of the best technique of the whole school, there wasn't a step she couldn't do with a little practice, but she wasn't that popular. She was nothing like Cho Chang, Lavender Brown or Parvati Patil. Her technique might have been irreproachable, but was to shy to show off or to display her talents and chose to remain in the shadows, far from the teachers view. Her appearance didn't help either. Like all the girl here, she had the fitness required for a ballerina, but she wasn't eye-catching: plain brown eyes and brown hair, always kept in a tight bun, thin glasses, casual clothes of neutral or dark colors. Nothing fashionable. Well, she will probably be picked as a member of a corps de ballet and she would dance. That had always been her true love, dancing. She felt like she was flying each time she put on her shoes and started to twirl.

Another important event of the year was the arrival of Harry Potter at the school. He would enter the graduating class, and this despite the high level of it. He was the only son of Lily and James Potter, two ballet stars. They had found the Phoenix's Stars, the most reputed ballet troupe of the moment. Young Harry was a prodigy of ballet. He had been dancing since he had been old enough to learn the basic steps and had participated to several of his parents' show. Hermione had seen all of his ballets. Who hadn't?

And he was coming to Hogwart! He was going to be in the same class as her. Maybe he would talk to her?

Hermione shook her head and brought her attention back to her book. As if he would notice her. No, girls like Cho, Patil were noticed by dancing stars, not wallflowers like herself. She could always dream…But then he had to be an arrogant snob. Imagine, being a star with every girls after you, everything you could want… And he wasn't unattractive either : a slender and toned body, due to dancing, unruly black hair and deep green eyes who were his most noticeable traits. And above all, a cat-like grace in everything he did.

Shaking her head to get rid of her thoughts she returned to the adventure of Aragorn and co who were now trying to decide what to do of the One ring. She barely read a few pages when the door of her compartment opened and two girls and two boys entered. Looking up, she smiled. These four were the rare people she could see as friends.

First, Ginny Weasley, a year younger than herself but in the graduating class nonetheless, a slender body beautifully curved, thick copper locks, a smiling face and an easy going personality. She was quite popular at Hogwarts, first because of her skills and also because she was dating Draco Malfoy one of the masculine stars of the school. Their relationship had surprised everybody at the school. There had always been a big feud between their two family, nobody really knew why, but it had been going for quite few decades and when both of them had been seen together, it had been the subject of Hogwarts' gossips for a few weeks. Their family had tried to step in and pulled them apart, but in the end they had won. The fact that Draco was an only child and the only heir of Malfoy's family had been a factor of this as he had threatened to cut all of his ties with his family if they were to stop him. Finally the Weasleys and Malfoys had seemed to renounce but many thought that in their mind, the relationship would end after some time…

Said Draco was currently having his arm around his girlfriend's waist. Tall, with silver blond hair and gray eyes, a toned body, Nothing bad could be said about his appearance, besides his habit of gelling his hair, something Ginny was trying to cure him of. His character was another story… Let's just say that his sarcasm was legendary at the school…

The second boy was a bit taller and more gangly. His features were more sharp but his trademark was his brilliant red hair and freckles. Ron Weasley was a likeable character, quite famous for his temper too, not the best of the dancers but not someone to dismiss either. He was the youngest brother of Ginny and currently going out with Susan Bones.

The fourth girl was average-height with silk brown hair. Padma Patil was the twin of Parvati Patil, one of the female star, but as loud, arrogant and bold as Parvati was, as quiet and gentle Padma was. But those who thought her to be weak, learned their lesson quickly, she was not to be messed with.

"Hi Hermione! What are you doing?" asked Ron, slumping near her., as Drao and Ginny sat on the other side and Padma chose to seat near the red-haired boy.

"Reading Ron, you know this activity which implied a book and above all a brain."

Draco smirked.

"Good one."

"Thank you, I'm taking lessons."

"So, how was your summer," she asked, knowing well that reading was now out of question.

The four of them launched themselves in a description of their holidays. Apparently, Ron and Ginny had gone to Romania where one of their brothers was working. Draco had gone to France for a month, then to a summer dancing camp for another month. Padma had followed her parents as they went on a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea.

They spent the rest of the ride talking about their summer, everyone having funny anecdote to tell the others. Finally they arrived and stepped out of the train. As usual several minibuses were waiting for them. The five youth got into one and settled in the middle.

"So have you heard about Harry Potter?" asked Ginny, leaning forwards.

"Who hasn't?" drawled Draco not very pleased to see his girlfriend that excited about another boy.

Smiling Ginny put her head on his shoulder, thus bringing back a smile on his face.

"I heard he was coming to Hogwarts this year. His parents want him to have his diploma, so he can enter their company as a full member," said Padma. "I wonder if he is as good as he is said to be."

"I think he is," cut Hermione, "Did you watch his performances? It's amazing!"

Ron nodded.

"I have to agree with Mione here, he really deserve his nickname of Magic dancer…"

Draco nodded, somewhat reluctantly. Hermione could understand it… Up to now, he had always been the gifted dancer, the star, with Cedric Diggory and Oliver Wood. With Harry Potter's arrival, he knew he wouldn't be able to compete with the natural talent of him. 

They chatted for the remaining part of the trip and got out of their minibuses to contemplate Hogwarts ballet school again.

Hermione never grew tired of it. The school had been set up in an old castle which had been modified to allowed ballet's lessons. There was a lake close with a running path around it, a garden, a gym and a swimming pool. 

Taking her luggage out of the minibuses, Hermione entered the hall and went straight for the lift, eager to go back to her room. Every students in their last year had their own room, whereas younger students had to sleep in dorms. Her four friends chose to remain in the Hall talking with other people, introducing themselves to the new ones. But that was the difference between them and Hermione and the reason why they were popular and she wasn't. Social wasn't an adjective which fitted her. She didn't make the first step. People had to come to her as she was too shy to go to them first. But it didn't bother her. She had dancing and four great friends, even if they weren't exactly in the same circles… She had only ten minutes before the welcoming feast so she had to hurry up.

She went out of the lift as it stopped on the fourth floor where she was staying. But in her hurry she didn't see someone coming and bumped into him. Her luggage fell on the floor, one of her suitcase spreading its contents.

"Oh! Sorry!" Hermione apologized while starting to gather everything. "I didn't see you coming."

"No problem… But shouldn't you be in the hall?"

"I was just going to drop this in my room…," answered Hermione, not looking up, still trying to force one of her numerous books into the suitcase.

"Let me help you."

"Thanks!" This time Hermione looked up to thank her helper, end nearly fell on the floor from the shock. "H-Harry Potter?"

Indeed, here he was, standing before her in all his glory.

"Yes," he said, flashing her a smile, "and you are?"

"Hermione Granger," answered the girl, gathering back her wits. She looked at her watch and sew that she only had five minutes left. The fear of being late made her forget that it was Harry Potter standing before, moreover, why should she try to please him? Sure she'd like to be friend with him as he didn't seem to be that arrogant, but she couldn't fool herself: there was no way he was going to befriend her after he learn the Hogwarts' hierarchy. But now, Harry Potter or not, she couldn't be late for the feast and she was intimidated… She couldn't stay here more… Afterall he must think of her as a clumsy one, I mean, bumping into him… Embarrassment crept to her cheeks and she could feel herself getting red in the face.

"Well, happy to have meet you, but I have to bring this to my room, so see you at the feast."

With that she took her luggage and walked away as fast as she could, so that she didn't make a fool of herself more than she already had, leaving a bewildered Harry behind. Shrugging he resumed his walk to the hall.

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Hermione managed to slip in the Hall unnoticed and saw that Ginny had saved her a seat. She smiled gratefully at her friend as she sat among the last ones.

"Where were you?" whispered the red-head.

"In my room."

Before Ginny could say more, Headmaster Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome to another year in this fine school. I must emphasize again the dedication we expect from our students. You were seen worthy enough to enter Hogwarts and we hope that you'll meet our expectations. This school was created the opportunity to young people to live their love of ballet and dedicate their life to it. I'd like also t welcome every first year and ask the older ones to help them through their first weeks as they must remember their first steps in this school. A new addition to our graduation class is also to be announced. Harry Potter will join the graduating students. But enough with an old man's rambling and enjoy this feast!"

Cheers erupted in the room as the Headmaster sat back in his chair.

Hermione waited for her turn to go to the self. It went in years order, so she was in the last group. Tonight but on breakfast and lunch the seventh year were the first because of their heavy timetable. She listened to the talks around her, occasionally putting in a few words. In the corner of her eyes she could see Harry Potter being surrounding by a flock of girls. She was nearly pitying him…

All in all the dinner past quickly and soon it was bed time. Hermione went to bed early, smiling in her sleep, tomorrow she would dance…

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Her alarm clock woke her up at five in the morning as usual. After a quick shower she put on a a pair of trousers and tank top, put her hair in a ponytail, grabbed a small towel, an apple she had kept from dinner and a bottle of water, then went out to the lake. Running in the morning had become her routine. She would wake her at five go running for an hour, then go back to the school, took another shower, changed and go to breakfast. Contrary to some of the ballerina here she didn't starve herself to keep a good figure. Her parents, both dentists, had taught her that having an healthy way of life was better than all the diets possible. She ate her apple on her way to the lake, then but her things on a bench before falling in a good jog. She was half way through her first round of the lake when she heard someone calling her name. Startled, as she usually was the only one up at this hour, besides the people working in the school, that's it. Keeping jogging, she turned and saw a mop of black hair running towards her.

Harry Potter! What was he doing here? What could she do? Why did he have to be here?… But before she could panic completely, he had caught up with her and was running at her left side.

"Hi! Hermione it is? I'm sorry, but I've been introduced to so many people…"

"N-No, you're right," stuttered Hermione, mentally smacking herself. Why did she have to stutter!

"Good! So you like running?"

"Yes, or I wouldn't be here today…," replied the young girl, before stopping. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you…"

Harry's laugh interrupted her.

"No need to apologize for that! Emily snaps a lot at me, I'm used to it!"

"Emily?"

Harry blushed slightly.

"My girlfriend," he mumbled.

"Oh!"

"Yes, we've been together for about five months now…"

"Is she a ballerina?"

Harry muffled a laugh.

"Good God now! She's in an acting school… She wants to become an actress…"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Hermione was torn: on one side she was disappointed that he was taken… _as if he would have been interested in you_!, she berated herself. On the other side, it was kind of a relief.

There was a small silence as they kept on jogging.

"Do you come here each morning?" finally asked the dark-haired dancer.

"Yes, I like to be here early, it' so quiet, so peaceful… And it keeps me in shape."

"I was thinking that I would be the only one crazy enough to run this early…," said Harry, in a derisive tone.

"Well, when words will go out that you run here in the mornings, there will be far more people, just to be with the' Great Harry Potter'," joked Hermione, before putting her hand other her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… What I mean is that… OH! Sorry, sometimes, my mouth goes faster than my thoughts."

Harry smiled.

"Stop apologizing for nothing, besides, you're right… That's why I'd like to keep this habit quiet… I don't want some crazy hormone-driven girls to follow me everywhere."

"OK, moreover I want to able to run here…"

"So is it a deal?"

"It is," nodded Hermione.

"Okay, how long have you been dancing?"

"Since I was five!"

They started to talk. At first, Hermione was hesitant, but time passed, the easygoing manners of Harry made her more comfortable. He was talking to her as she was an old friend… The hour passed in a blur. Harry was telling her a funny thing his godfather had done to his father just before a performance.

"And as he opened his wardrobe, he saw nothing but pink bunnies outfits. Sure his clothes were hidden in an other wardrobe… But my father threw a tantrum, he completely panicked!"

Hermione snickered, picturing James Potter the ballet star in a pink bunny outfit.

They walked back to their bench, as Hermione saw Harry had put his stuff near hers. They stretched for a bit before heading back to the castle.

"I had a great time, see you in class!" said Harry.

"Don't forget breakfast, in half an hour!"

"Of course!"

With that, they parted. 

Twenty minutes later, Hermione entered the Hall and went straight to the self, taking what she needed before going to seat at the end of one of the table, none of her friends being here yet. A few minutes, a yawning red-head sat next to her.

"Morning 'Mione."

"Morning, Ginny."

"You went running again?"

"Listening to you, people would think it's dark, horrible habit of mine…"

"Let me state it again. People who get up at five to go running and sweating just for fun should be sent straight to the closest psychiatric hospital…" 

They ate silently as the three others arrived. Hermione noticed that Harry wasn't here yet and looked at the doors as they opened to let a group of girls entered. A flash of black hair caught her attention as she realized that it was Harry who was caught between them. the dancer seemed to look for any mean of escape and relief wash through his eyes as he spotted her. He went to the self quickly in an attempt to get rid of his stalkers and took his breakfast before nearly running to Hermione and her friends, sitting at the only place left, in front of Hermione.

"Thank God for this place."

"That bad?" chimed Padma, shyly.

"These are human leeches!!"

The four friends looked at each others, before laughing, as Harry pouted.

"Thank you for your support, but I don't think we've been introduced. I'm…"

"Harry Potter. I think everybody with half a brain registered this," cut Draco, earning himself a whack from Ginny.

"Now, be nice. I'm Ginny Weasley by the way. This git over here," she waved at Draco who tried to look offended at her comment, "is Draco Malfoy and my boyfriend. This my brother Ron, Padma Patil, and Hermione Granger."

"We met earlier."

"Really?"

"I bumped into him yesterday evening," said Hermione, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Soon it was time for their first lesson: they had first an hour of classical teaching, then an hour of fitness with Mme Hooch, Technical lessons with Mme McGonagall. In the afternoon, they had Expression with Mr Flitwick, after they worked on Choregraphy with Mr Lupin, Mr Black and Mme Sinistra, sometimes, Mr Dumbledore came too. Half an hour of relaxation, with Mme Trelawney then some classical teaching: maths, sciences, literature, history, geography… These were assured by Professor Vector, Snape and Sprout. 

All in all it was a busy schedule and most of them would work alone in the evenings to try to improve. 

This day, they had Maths in the morning, with Vector and Hermione breezed through it. Academically, she was brilliant, or so she was told. Then came the fitness hour. As usual, Hermione took her place in the back. Ginny and Draco went to the front where Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were already getting ready. Padma chose to place herself in the middle, followed by Harry. The hour went fast. Most of the exercises were easy for Hermione, as she prided herself with staying perfectly fit. On the opposite hand, most girls loathed this hour, as it means, most of the time, sweating. Mme Hooch finally released them. They all headed to McGonagall's class. They refreshed a bit and everyone got ready: the girls into their pale pink tights and black leotard, the boys into their black tights and sleeveless shirt. Hermione took her bag and reverently unwrapped her points. With slow movements, after protecting her toes, she carefully laced the points, with the use coming from the habits. Then she got out of the changing room and went in the room. In fact there were two rooms: The first one was where the bars were, the seconds was empty.

Mme McGonagall was already there and saluted Hermione as the girl went to one of the corner, where she started to stretch to regain the feelings. A few minutes later, everyone was here. They started slowly before entering in the usual routine. Hermione smiled. She was dancing, she was where she had to be… 


	2. First Day and an Announcement

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize!

A/N: Hi! Well first, thanks a lot for your answers and your review. I decided after much thought I would keep this fic devoid of Magic, so sorry for those who wanted some. Then, this story won't be an action one, it's something I'm writing to have a break from my two others. So it won't have a very good plot, maybe a lot of cliché, (I think there are quite a few of them already.)

Third, I'll be using French for the technical terms, You can find a vocabulary part at the end of the story. But if it proves to be too bothersome, tell me and I'll try to use English translation.

Well, I think that's all.

I'm looking for a beta-reader, or someone with ballet experience to help me with the technical stuff or the way a ballet lesson go. In this chapter I put it my way, so if someone can give me infos, thanks! You can mail me at naia_ac005@hotmail.com.

Now, I'll stop rambling and get on with the story.

Naia

Chapter 2 

A piano melody filled the room. McGonagall went immediately in her strict teacher mode.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, in position please. First position, plié, plié, be careful with your en dehors Marissa, grand plié, your back Angela! Relevé, arm in crown."

While ordering the dancers around, MacGonagall was walking between them, correcting them as she passed through them.

"Now, second position. Plié, plié, plié, grand plié. Very good, Ginny. Sonja! Your arm, you're not in a pub!"

While she was dispatching her comments, the youths continued the sequence, knowing it by heart.

"And fifth! Good Draco, keep this up."

They started the sequence over, as they had to do each one four times at least.

"Ron, straighter! You're hunched over the barre!"

McGonagall went to Hannah, correcting her stance, then moved Ernie's feet a bit. She kept watching them closely, not missing one mistake, and delivering some praises. Hers were rare, but deserved.

"Good Lavender, do not raise your chin that high though."

As they finished the sequence for the fourth time, she was back to the front.

"Now, en croix!"

Following her orders, the young dancers started this new routine.

"Dean, too much en dehors! Straighter the leg, Blaise!…"

She corrected the dark-haired dancer.

"Seamus, your placement! More graceful Pansy, arm gentle, you're not trying to pull the barre out! Third position!"

Half an hour later, they had been through all the different sequences and were finishing the last one:

"Bend forwards, relevé, camber…" Verny nice Parvati, you too Lavender. Good Cho. More gentle Mandy. Oliver, Draco, Cedric, excellent."

She clapped her hands.

"Good, next door."

Now started the slow part of the lesson. During this period, they would work on their stance, balance with slow and smooth exercises. It was hard, but Hermione was relishing those moments when she would defy the laws of gravity… Time flew and it was soon coming to an end.

"Retiré, slower Angela, you're not doing a race! Graceful, you're walking on clouds. Developpé… very good Padma, keep this up. Rond de jambe, nice Terry, and arabesque. Hold up, demi pointe, still holding up. Don't wobble like this Justin, you're not jelly. Your placement Ronald! Back straight Mandy. On pointe Mesdemoiselles. Now hold up as long as you can."

This exercise was McGonagall's lesson's trademark. Hermione was always careful not to hold her position any longer than the "popular clique" of Lavender and Parvati. She had seen what happened to those  who proved to be better than them. Dancing suits and shoes sabotaged,  false rumors circulating,… Only those who were high enough on the social scale of Hogwarts could get away with it, like Ginny, Padma or Cho. Hermione had always hated the conflict, so she preferred to remain in the shadows. She was dancing, that's all that mattered.

But today as she found her center and reached the state where she was feeling feather-like, when she even found joy in the pain coursing through her legs and arms, she lost herself to the perfection of this instant and shut the world out. Whispers brought her brutally back to reality, as McGonagall spoke up.

"Perfect Hermione, you too Harry. Maintain those stance a bit longer please."

Panicked, Hermione realized that her and Harry Potter were the only ones still holding the stance. Knowing she couldn't disobey McGonagall, she stilled herself, ignoring the venomous glares from Lavender and Parvati. They were usually the ones to be praised or to be showed as examples.

"Now, messieurs, look at Harry's position, this is exactly what it must look like. I noticed a few of you who had managed it: Draco, Cedric, Terry, Oliver for example. Be extraful to the straight quality of his legs and the placement of his torso. Excellent, Harry, you can drop it."

She walked to Hermione.

"Mesdemoiselles, see the position of Hermione. Look at the curve of her arm, the perfect angle of the legs and her stability. This is exactly the perfect position that I'm looking for. Wonderful Hermione, you can drop it."

Stretching a bit, Hermione, tried to avoid everyone's eyes, but did not miss her friends' happy, yet somewhat surprised faces.

"Diagonals, chasse, jeté! Harry, Hermione, you're first."

Cheeks burning, Hermione walked quickly to one of the corner, Harry by her side. 

"You're good," said the dark-haired dancer, "Nearly as good as I am."

"Really?" Hermione was a bit peeved by Harry's tone. Maybe her first impression had been wrong, he sure sounded quite big headed. "Let's see."

Hermione might have been shy but she had a competitive streak, which, once pulled on, would push her above her own limits. 

Piqued by the amusement shining in Harry's eyes, she raised her chin and readied herself, resolved to show him. McGonagall switch on the CD-player and started to count:

"6…7…8… And 1…2…"

Chassé, chasse, grand jeté. Hermione loved the jumps. She felt like she was flying. The trick was to make it look so smooth that the next movements became the logical sequel of the previous one. Reception, without trembling or hesitating. Chassé and they started it a second time as the seconds started their first.

"Perfect!"

They finished their diagonal and went back to the end of the line.

Time flew and soon, it was partners' time. Each students, at the end of their first year had to partner with someone: it was boy and girl pairs and once they were made, they would stay like this for the remaining part of their education at Hogwarts, unless one of the member of a pair came with a valid reason, but it had been extremely rare. Hermione had  paired with a rather clumsy boy who had left at the end of his second year to enter a music school. Since then, she had had to go work with an other group as she had been partnerless. 

Parvati and Lavender, as well as a few other girls went straight to Harry.

"You can be my partner if you want Harry," proposed the chesnut haired-girl.

"Or mine," added her friend.

Harry seemed torn. He didn't want to be with either of them, but couldn't refuse bluntly. He was saved by Professor McGonagall.

"Parvati! Lavender, Mesdemoiselles, you partners are waiting." 

"Yes, Madame," answered Parvati, "but as Harry is new, an doesn't have a partner, we thought that for once…"

"No. You thought wrong. You know the rules, no change in your partners. Now Oliver and Terry are waiting…" She looked around and spotted Hermione who was joining Padma and Ron. "Hermione. You don't have partner if I remember…"

The young woman raised her head up.

"No madame."

"Then, Harry, you can join her. It'll be easier this way. Hermione come in the front, so I can see if you work well together."

Hermione was shocked. Harry, Harry Potter was going to be her partner! She saw the glare of Parvati and Lavender intensified. If looks could kill, Hermione would have been already dead and buried six feet under. The young woman dreaded to think of what would happen afterwards.

"But…"

"No buts. Now hurry up! Everyone ready, in position!"

Nodding, Harry walked to Hermione, who seemed too shocked to move and led her to the front. They settled in positions and started to execute the figures and lifts McGonagall was asking for, while a gentle melody filled the room.

The exercise went without an hitch and a part of Hermione relished in having such a partner. Harry was always ready and was strong. She slowly started to trust him more, as their teacher asked of them more and more difficult movements. This was the reason of the necessity for a ballerina to be careful about her weight. She couldn't afford to get to heavy for her partner, or to ruin her figure. Hermione wasn't as skinny as some others who starved themselves. But the was well proportioned and didn't have the ill-look some got, from lack of food or equilibrated meals. 

Harry was quite happy with this arrangement. This Hermione was a great dancer, he had seen it, and she had the right figure for him: not too tall or too short, and not too fat or skinny. Given the choice, he would have preferred to dance with someone a bit plump than skinny. He was always afraid he was going to break one of their bone when he was holding them. As an experienced dancer, he could appreciate the figure of the girl he was currently dancing with. She was healthy and from their encounter this morning, sportive: she had been barely out of breath from their jog. Another plus for was her timing. He usually had to be very careful to follow his partner, but after a few minutes he had realized that Hermione knew her stuff and was extremely precise. He wondered if she would be able to do some of the moves and lifts he had created but had never been able to do, having never found the right person to execute them. The women of the company with whom he had danced sometimes were too old, compared to him to really work with him; and none of the girls he had met, though brilliant they were, had had the sense of rhythm Hermione was showing. His thoughts were interrupted as he put Hermione down and the professor clapped her hands loudly.

"Well done everyone. Harry, you'll be partner with Hermione for the year. I'll pass the word to your other teacher."

Hermione turned to the young man.

"Do you mind? I'll understand if you prefer to be with someone else…"

"I don't mind Hermione. It won't be a problem.

For you, maybe, mused Hermione, but I'm going to pay for that, she thought, seeing the envious stares she was getting, as she picked her stuff up, before walking up to Ginny and her friends. Harry walked to her, his water bottle in one hand, his sweat-shirt in the other, with his shoes.

"What's next?"

"Well, lunch, then Expression, choreography, relaxation and lessons", answered the young ballerina.

"OK, do you?…" He was cut by Parvati and Lavender as the two girls surrounded him, with some of their friends close behind. When he looked up again, after having managed to put some distance between him and the ballerinas, Hermione was gone. He saw her exit the room, following the people she had been with at breakfast, Draco, Ronald, Ginger, no Ginny and Padma, if his memory was still good. Before passing the door, she turned and gave a small sympathizing smile. 

He returned his attention to the female surrounding him, and racked his brain, looking for a polite way to get rid of them.

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Ginny, Padma, along with Draco and Ron cornered Hermione. 

"Hermione! Why didn't you tell us you could dance like this!" Ginny seemed a bit hurt at the fact that her friend had hidden this from her.

"Yes, you were awesome, why did you hide it?" added Ron.

Hermione looked down…

"I don't like to show of… And I'm not like you Ginny, I'm not popular like any of you. And you know what happens to those who proved to be skilled but weren't popular… After this, I'll be on top of the to-get-rid-of list of Parvati and Lavender, and that's without taking the fact that I'm partnered with Harry Potter into account."

Ginny's eyes blazed.

"They'd better not try anything, or they'll rue the day they decided to attack one of my friends…"

"Yeah," Draco's cold eyes starred at Hermione, warming at the visibly worried young woman. "Don't worry, I think they've enough brain to understand that attacking a Malfoy's,"

"Or a Weasley's," piped in Ron.

"…friend would sign their death's warrant."

 Hermione smiled slightly, grateful to have her friends supporting her.

"Or I can set the twins on them," said Ginny with an evil smile on her face.

Hermione smiled widened, as Padma stifled her laughter, something Ron didn't try to do. Draco was looking at his girlfriend with an appraising look.

"This is a truly evil idea, Ginny," he said.

"I had a good teacher," she replied, giving him a small peck on the lips.

"Hey! Not when I'm here!" protested Ron, only to be ignored by the duo.

"Anyway, you're lucky to have been assigned Harry as a partner, he's a really good dancer, said Padma."

"Yes," nodded Hermione. "I just hope none of us will have to regret this."

They arrived in the self and after taking their food, sat at a table, eating. Hermione watched, amused, as Draco and Ron started one of their famous wit war. The door of the self opened and a annoyed looking Harry hurried to the self, took his meal in a flash and nearly ran to Hermione's table. He was closely followed by a group of girls, led by Parvati and Lavender. 

"Thanks for inviting me, Ginny, it was really nice of you," he said loudly.

Bewildered, the five friends looked at the dancer, who had pleading eyes fixed on them. Catching on, Ginny answered as loudly.

"No problem, Harry, it was my pleasure."

At this moment, the girls arrived, looking disgruntled.

"Do you want to eat with us, Harry? We'd be honored to have you with us."

Harry put his most charming, faked, smile on.

"It would have been a pleasure, I'm sure, but I already promised Ginny and Draco that I'd eat with them."

Knowing better than to cross Draco or Ginny, at least in frontal attack, they smiled and left.

"Thank you sooo much," sighed Harry, "I was starting to think they'll never leave me alone."

"No problem," said Draco, taking Ginny's hand across the table, clearly showing that the red-head was off-limit to every male.

Harry shook his head miserably.

"Do you think they'll leave me alone, if they learn I have a girlfriend?"

Draco relaxed slightly at this and lighten his grip on his girlfriend's hand.

"Well, they won't pester you as much," said the blond, shrugging.

"It'll be an improvement, I want to be able to walk without being by this… plague!" Harry seemed really annoyed and Hermione had trouble, like her friends to restrain herself from laughing.

"Laugh all you want, but help me, how can I spread the word that I'm taken with someone already?" asked Harry.

"Easily," said Ron, "Where is she?" He was looking around.

"Who?" asked Padma.

"Tatiana. Ah! Here she is."

Acknowledgement spread on every faces, minus Harry who was eyeing them with a raised eyebrow.

Said girl was a brunette, seated three seats on their right and trying desperately to listen to the talks taking place around her.

Loudly, Padma turned to Harry.

"So, Harry, any girl in your life?"

Her eyes were twinkling and she mouthed discreetly to him to play along. Catching her drift, Harry replied as loudly.

"Yeah, for nearly two years now."

"Really?" Padma was enjoying herself. The six youths were aware of the fact that the people seated in a four-seat range were hanging at their words.

"Her name is Emily, she's the niece of one of the members of my parents' company."

"Congrats."

"Thanks."

They returned to their food, smiling as the rumor mills entered in action. From the corner of her eyes, Hermione could see Tatiana's gleeful face as she ate the remains of her meals as quickly as possible, before putting her plate with the dirty ones going to the kitchen and ran to an acquaintance. This girl was the gossip queen of Hogwarts.

"Done," said Ron, "with Tatiana, you can be sure that the whole school will have heard of this by dinner time.

Once they were done and had discarded their dirty plates, they headed to the Expression lesson.  Hogwarts' students were particularly sought after, as, in addition of the high level the school required of its students, the graduating dancers leaving the school had received and developed acting and expressional skills: depending of their talent, they could for the most skilled of them, make the audience feel the emotions of the characters, live the ballet. The lesson was directed by a small but energetic man, Professor Flitwick. He had never been a dancer, but had been an actor in several play. He always tried to bring the best of his students and had always an encouraging words for them.

Hermione always put a lot of effort in this class, but her attempt usually looked forced. She was admiring the ease with which Ginny or Draco could act, could make it looks so real, so emotional. Lavender and Parvati were also great, even if they had a tendency to overdo their performance a bit.

The lesson was parted in three parts: first they would learn a small sequence which they'd have to adapt to a music, then, they'll have to create a sequel, and finally, Professor Flitwick would call them forwards, one by one, asking them to dance what they had worked for the lesson and then make them improvise on a new music, different for each of them.

This was the exercise Hermione dreaded the most, as it meant she'd have to go up in front of everyone, as long as it was on the move she had worked on for the lesson, it was alright, but improvisation had always been her weak point. She usually remained in a corner, discreet and tended to pass in the last, when most of the dancers were gone to change, as the lesson tended to last a bit longer, as there was a lot of people to see.

The lesson passed quickly and the moment Hermione had dreaded came.

"Now, time for improvisation!" Professor looked around. "Harry, since you're new, you'll do the honor."

Nodded, Harry positioned himself, and executed first the move they had to work on for today. Hermione was impressed by the level he demonstrated. The move was nearly flawless, but she noticed a small hesitation at a reception, as well as a small lost of this balance, but it was so discreet that she was sure most of the people in the room hadn't seen it. She knew why as she had had the same problem in the past year and had had a hard time correcting it.

"Very good Harry! Well done, now improvise on this!" He placed a new CD in the CD player and chose a track. Meanwhile, Harry had graciously taken his position in the middle of the room, waiting for the music to start. As the first note filled the room, Hermione fully understood why he had been nicknamed "Magic Dancer". She stared in wonder as he broke into turns, jumps, steps, never hesitating, slowing down at time to held a position for a few seconds, the whole thing perfectly synchronized with the music. It was a difficult one, with a lot of breaks in the beat, but Harry  managed to exploit it to its fullest.

Afetr one minute, Professor Flitwick stopped the CD player, a large grin on his face.

"Wonderful, Marvelous!"

The small man was truly ecstatic.

The others dancers were looking, dazed, at the raven-haired man.

"Thank you sir, but I already knew this music, so it was a bit easier for me."

"Really?"

"Yes, my parents used it a few times for some of their practice with the company, a few years ago."

"That doesn't make your performance any worse," replied the teacher, still smiling. "Now, who will go next?"

Nobody answered, not wanting to dance after this. Hermione sunk back in the wall but felt a sharp kick in her ribs and yelped, attracting everyone's gaze on her. She turned to face a smirking Lavender. Blushing to the roots of her hair, she looked down.

"Hermione? Will you give it a go?"

Flitwick gave her an encouraging smile, he liked this girl a lot. She had potential, he could see it in her moves, in her way to held herself, but her shyness was preventing her from dancing to the best of her abilities. She got paralyzed under the gaze of othr people, which was the reason why she hadn't been chose as leads in the past year's shows. Hadn't it been for that, she would have. Her technique place her equal to the best students he had ever seen in this academy, almost up to the level of the young Harry. The difference between them being that Harry could cut himself from his environment and forget who was watching to just dance. Hermione was still too self conscious.

Having no choice but to accept, Hermione positioned herself for the first exercise. She was confident in the sequence she had elaborated.

As the music started, she danced. She had added a few daring move to her performance: a tour jeté, several pirouettes and some of her own she had created… She stopped having reached her final stance.

"Very good, Hermione, now improvisation. Remember what we said," added the teacher seeing the nervous look of the young ballerina. He watched as she started to evolve. He hadn't chose a music too hard but it wasn't very good either. Her move though technically perfect were devoid of emotions and seemed forced. It saddened him a bit that she couldn't release her full potential. She had progressed a bit through the year, but seemed blocked at this level.

He stopped the music after a minute.

"You progressed a bit, but there is still a lot of work. You must forget where you are, who is watching you. Forget that, there is only to things: the music and yourself, everything else in unimportant."

The young woman nodded, her cheeks burning, she knew she hadn't been good. Lavender's smirk was proof enough.

Surprisingly, the young woman volunteered to go next and put up a great display. The rest of the lesson passé quickly. Hermione had gone back to her corner, massaging her muscles while watching as Ginny performed beautifully on a Bach's prelude.

Flitwick let them go with some advice for the next lesson and they headed to the Choreography room. She hoped that this time it would be Professor Lupin or Madame Sinistra. Professor Black, though a funny man, tended to joke too much during the lesson to her liking. Professor Dumbledore sometimes came too.

Her thoughts were interrupted as her friends caught up with her.

"It wasn't that bad Hermione," said Ginny, patting her on the shoulder. 

Doubtful, Hermione turned to Draco. She knew he wouldn't sugar-coat her.

"After seeing you dance this morning, I think you should have done a lot better. Your moves were forced, automatic."

Ginny elbowed him sharply in the ribs, earning a yelp from her boyfriend.

"Hey what was that for?"

"You're not helping!" She said, pointing to Hermione's fallen face.

"She asked?"

"Haven't you heard of tact?"

"Ginny, Draco is right and I wanted the truth. I won't progress if I am not critic towards myself."

Draco shot a triumphant glance to the red-haired dancer.

Ron squeezed Hermione's shoulder.

"Don't worry you'll get it one day. It's not like you to give up."

 Smiling at her friend, Hermione took a deep breath.

"Well, we should hurry or we'll be late."

The five friends broke in a run, giggling.

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They arrived just in time and went to put their bags on a side of a room. The three teacher plus the headmaster was here. Hermione knew immediately that something was going on. Even Professor Black looked serious for once.

She saw him wink at Harry who had a wide smile on his face.

"Good afternoon," said Mr Dumbledore. "As we're now all here, I'll give you this announcement. As you all know, this your last year in this institution. Usually we don't do anything special, besides the gala of the end of the year. But this year, we decided to innovate a bit. A gala in addition of the traditional will be held. The money will go to some charities. Only graduating students will be a part of it. You'll play Phoenixia. I think you all now this ballet. The leads will be filled after a casting."

Excited whispers ran through the room, as Dumbledore resumes his explanation. 

"You'll all have to dance the Kalia and Istyan's duet. To put you on an equal basis, you'll performed it with one of the two dancers who accepted to help me: Mr Viktor Krum for Durmstrang's Ballet School in Bulgaria, and Miss Fleur Delacour, from Beauxbâtons' Dancing Academy."

Squeals of delight from some girls as well as sighs followed this announcement 

"They will arrive in two months, moment where you'll be judged. The second part of your examination, will be this one: with the partner you have been assigned, you'll have to create a duet. You can choose any kind of music, clothes… You're free, but you'll be judged on this performance too. As you all know, there is two main leads to fill, six secondary leads, eight secondary roles and the corps de ballet." He paused a bit and looked amused at the excited faces before him. 

"During the gala, the representative of all the interested companies will be present. It will be held the week before the end of the year gala."

He smiled.

"I wish you all good luck."

With that he smiled at the three teacher and left.

Immediately chaos broke out.

Hermione was delighted. Phoenixia! She was going to be part of Phoenixia. She had seen this ballet times and times. 

It was the story of Istyan a young prince, heir of Phoenixia which got transformed in a basilik, a serpent able to kill with one glance after having throw a couple of old peasants out of his house. The couple proved to be an enchantress and a Mage. Both of them cast the curse on him. During the night he would regain his true form, but as the sun would rise, he would go back to his reptilian form. As he woke up the next morning, he was nearly killed by the inhabitants of the castle who thought he had eaten the prince. He managed to escape, wounded and not knowing where to go. He went into the Great forest and waited here, moping.  

A day, his musing were interrupted as two young maiden passed near, Kalia and her firend Elysa.  He was still injured as some of his wounds were infected. But e managed to slither to a clearing were the two girls were resting. He immediately fell in love with the young Kalia, but heard from her talk that she was courted by a man called Zorga and that her brother was engaged to Elysa.  Without thinking he entered in their view, drawing horrified cries from Elysa, but to his surprise, as he prepared to flee, his eyes closed as to not harm them, Kalia caught up with him and stopped him. She looked at his wound, despite Elysa's warning and put some herbs on them, before asking him to follow her to Elysa's godfather who was also an healer.

Once their, once Soren had overcome his shock he started to heal him. He stayed there three days. At night he would wander out in his human form, Once he walked to the village of Kalia and saw her through her window, sleeping. Once he was healed,  he stayed around, looking over the two girls, but mostly Kalia. He saw Zogar courting her, with the approval of her brother Thoran. 

Once Zogar got more insistant and she started to be scared. He had cornered her against a tree. Istyan immediately sprang at her rescue and threw him away. At this moment, dusk fell, and he started to transform, horrified, before Kalia. Soon he was in his human form before her. He closed his eyes, as the basilik power was still present even when he regained his true form. He tried to run away, but she stopped him, asking him what happened. He told her his story and her heart went to the handsome prince. She told him that his parents had realized he must been still alive and that research were made to find him. But as time had passed, they had stopped. Only the princess Dena had kept searching for her lost brother.  

She took him to Soren, who knew all the remedies. He advised them to go see the Forest dryad. Meanwhile, Zogar had run to village and Thoran, saying that the basilik had attacked him and Kalia. A group of armed men ran to Soren, as Zogar knew Kalia would go there. Elysa tried to stop them but was cast away. She ran to her friend to warn her, arriving a few minutes before the men. Hurriedly, she told Kalia what happened. Istyan decided to go alone to the dryad, as he would endangered Kalia if he stayed. As the girl was refusing to let him go alone, he told her to warn his family and gave her the small necklace he had managed to keep in his escape from the castle. He left a few seconds before the men arrived, but kissed Kalia, telling her of his love for her before entering the forest. 

Zogar and Thoran arrived, and immediately went to Kalia asking of her well-being, as the other men looked around for the beast. Kalia and her brother had a row. Thoran brought his sister to the house, where her parents announced her that she was going to marry Zogar in a month. Second row between she and her parents, which ended by her seclusion in her room until she came back to her senses.  Zogar went to the witch of the village, asking for a way to kill the basilik and bewitch Kalia. The witch left him and after some rituals,  gave him two potions. One which would make Kalia fall under his will, the next one, would, when mixed with some of the basilik blood, kill him when touching him. In exchange she asked for his soul and the basilik heart, wanting to follow him when he would go kill it. Zogar agreed, not knowing that Elysa had seen him as she, with Thoran had gone outside to walk through the village. 

Thosran, understanding he had been tricked decided to help his sister out. With Elysa, he asked his parents if the whole family plus Elysa could go to the castle to ask him his opinion on said wedding, as well as his thoughts on the basilik. The parents agreed and they left, Elysa and Soren accompanying them. Zogar and the witch went to the Forest and entered, following the trail of the basilik thanks to the witch power.

Istyan had then reached the dryad tree, through the many obstacles and tests the Enchantress and the Mage had placed on his way, to test his resolve and see if he had changed of heart. Then dryad caught him and asked him of his business. After listening to his story, she told him that he would regain his true form after being touch by the blood of a relative in his human form and loved in both his forms. He left her, thanking her, leaving her three of his scales as they held a lot of power, as well as some venom and blood. She gave him a stone which, would stop his eyes from killing anyone when in his human form but could only be used once. To the moment he would shift to his reptilian form, he would regain the power. Thanking her, he then slithered towards the castle. 

During this time, Kalia and the others had reached the castle. After being heard in the audience, they were told to wait for a few days as the king reserved his judgment. Spotting Dena, Kalia managed to escape the watch of her parents and slipped the necklace in the princess hand, with a small note. They met a bit later, with Thoran, and Elysa; Kar, Istyan's best friend Dena's fiancé was also present. They told her the story and all of them went to the royal couple, asking and being grant the right to go see the dryad. 

As they left, Istyan came back the next night, in his human form, at night, the stone in his hand. He went to his parents who were overjoyed to see him. They shed some of their blood, but though they loved their son, it wasn't enough to break the curse. He asked where his sister was. They told him that she had left with the others. Soren who had stayed gave him some healing herbs as he left to their pursuit. During his trials on his way to the dryad, he had come to the realization of his love for Kalia and hoped she would return the feeling. 

The witch and Zogar had reached the dryad tree and captured her when Kalia and the others arrived there. The witch, using some of the dryad's treasure, trapped them. As Istyan arrived, in his basilik's form, Zogar was about to feed Kalia's the potion, and the witch was adding the blood he had gave the dryad to the other potion. He sprang, knocking Zogar away and sending the vial crashing on the ground. Meanwhile, the witch, having completed the potion, threw it at Istyan, but Kalia managed to free herself and jumped between him and the vial, being hit in the process. The potions, lethal for a basilik, would penetrate anything and slowly went to the brain, through the blood system, shutting it out but not damaging the other organs. Kalia fell to the floor, getting weaker and weaker. As Istyan lowered her head to her fragile body, the others watching quietly at the drama. Thoran and Kar having restrained Zogar and the witch. Kalia, brought her hands to the enormous head, weakly petting it and whispering to him he had been magnificent. 

Dusk started to set and he shifted to his human form, his eyes closed Taking her in his arms, he begged her to stay with him. She smiled weakly, asking him to let her see the eyes of the one she loved before passing away. First refusing, he accepted as she grew weaker. Slowly opening his eyelids, he expected her to be dead and limp in his arms, but he only saw her smiling face, as she shivered more in his arms. "You're free," she told him, as he buried his head in her shoulder, thanking her over and over again. She coughed and shivered more strongly than before falling unconscious.  Thoran started to weep, but Dena gave her brother an encouraging smile, telling him to save the woman he loved. He opened her mouth and cried, a tear falling from his cheeks and in throat. She glowed brightly and he whispered a chant, backed up by his sister and Kar who had taken his fiancée's hand. Kalia was the surrounded by a golden light who seemed to be absorbed in her body. 

Royalty of Phoenixia shared a common skilled, phoenix' powers, mainly its healing power. Nobility had some magical powers, including the ability to give energy to someone of something. Is a Phoenixian, as was called the members or royalty, gave some of his tears to drink, he gave the person the power of Phoenix, it was mainly done for wedding so that the couple would be on an equal footing. 

She laid motionless, as Istyan tightened his grip on her body, and then, coughed suddenly, her body shaken violently. She looked in his face and they kissed. Hey went back to the castle, were the king and the queen welcomed them and judged Zogar and the witch which were exiled. The four parents had before discussed of a possible wedding between their chidren, as Istyan had tolmd the of his decision to ask Kalia's hand, and had agreed to it. Their marriage as well as Dena and Kar's and Thoran and Elysa's were celebrated two weeks later. 

The story had always brought tears to Hermione's eyes. How many times had she dreamt she was Kalia, or a fairy tale princess! And she had the opportunity to… No she berated herself, she shouldn't dream, the role would go to Ginny, or Parvati, or Lavender, or Cho, not to her. She looked at Harry, she was sure he would be Istyan. Harry walked to her.

"When do you want to work on the duet?" He asked smiling.

"This evening? Tomorrow we'll have too much work, as we have sciences, unless  Snape had changed drastically this summer, we'll be loaded with homework." 

"Alright, where?"

"Well, they'll be a lot of people here, so I'll show you my place, I'll come get you at?"

"We could go straight after dinner…"

"Why not, but you'll have to get rid of your fan club."

"Gladly."

Professor Lupin clapped his hands.

"Messieurs, Mesdemoiselles, calm, please! » He was finally obeyed after a few moments. "Good, now, would the ladies go with Madame Sinistra, while Professor Black and myself will take care of you messieurs." In an hour, we'll join groups and practice the part learned and the lift."

The dancers scurried in their group. Ginny and Padma were enthusiastic.

"Hermione! This is so great! I can't believe it!"

"Yes, you will surely be Kalia Ginny? You're so good!" Said the brown-haired ballerina.

"You too Hermione, your performance in McGonagall was amazing."

"No, I'm not skilled enough in expression, you saw me," stated Hermione before changing the subject, as they readied for the lesson, Ginny forcing her to come in the front.

The duet was difficult, highly technical, requiring the utmost precision in the steps, but Hermione was thrilled at the challenge. They rehearsed the first part for the whole hour, decomposing each sequence of movements, timing them, before repeating them again and again. Once the hour was over, they went back to the main room were the boys had been practicing.

"Messieurs, those lovely ladies are waiting for you," said Professor Black with a bow. 

"Partner up," simply said Professor Lupin, sighing at his co-teacher antics.

Harry took Hermione hand and led her to the front. The young ballerina was a bit disgruntled at this, her friends and Harry were making an habit of putting her in the front.

"We'll start of the chassé, skipping the entry," announced Madame Sinistra. "Ready, Five, six, seven, eight. And One…", she clapped to simulate the beat. They started the first sequence, without the music, to coordinate both of their steps. This sequence ended with a lift. Harry knelt before as she started some chained turn. As the last second she placed her right foot on his cupped hand and her left arm on his shoulder, her left leg straight behind her. He pushed her up ward, his left hand settling on the small of her back as she bent backwards. In the end, she was doing an arabesque, lifted on Harry's hand which he blocked at his hips, her weight put on it and on his shoulder as she placed a large part of her weight on it through her arm. It was only a problem of balance and weight repartition. They accomplished the move without an hitch and maintained the position for four claps, without moving, as statues, before finishing the move. Harry let the ballerina slide against him, to take her in his arm, carrying her. Clapping erupted in the room.

"Marvelous Harry!" Said Professor Black. "Truly Marvelous! Well done everybody else, Draco, you and Ginny did well on the lift, you just have to stabilize it and work on the slide, Lavender, do not rush your turn, that's why Oliver couldn't lift you. Cho, you and Cedric, nearly got it, just remember to put your weight on the shoulder, and Cedric, don't forget to hold her at her back. Harry, would you and Hermione mind going over it once more, alone this time."

Harry nodded, but Hermione stiffened at this. Sensing it, Harry leaned on her.

"Relax, you did great, forget about them and listen to the music." He looked at the professors. "Could we have the music?"

They nodded and placed the CD on the right track as the two youths got ready. As the music started, Hermione just concentrated on her dancing. The lift came, and once again they did it without an hitch. Clapping welcomed their performance again, even some whistles from Ron.

"Excellent, Perfect!" Said Madame Sinistra. "Hermione, I'm happy to see this from you. That was very good."

Hermione blushed, mumbling some thanks, hearing Lavender mutter at her friend it was easy to do it when you were with Harry Potter!

The hour was spent on perfecting the move, in particular the lift. Harry and Hermione worked on coordinating themselves a bit better.

"You're great Hermione!"

"Oh! You did most of the job! Anybody would have managed it too."

The lesson was soon over.

"In which level are you?" asked Hermione.

"Advanced," answered Harry.

"You're with me then, and Draco and Ginny too," replied Hermione, stretching her legs.

"Do…"

"No they aren't in this level, they're in Average."

Harry's brows furrowed.

"How did you know what I was going to ask?"

"Your face."

"Oh! Okay. We have Litterature now, and History, right?"

"Exact."

"Harry! Could you spare me a minute?" asked Professor Black with a wide smile. "I'll catch up with you."

Hermione nodded, and left after reminding him of the classroom number.

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"So Harry? What do you think of the school?" asked the dark-haired professor.

"That's cool so far, if you except those bloody girls!"

Sirius Black smirked, he had enjoyed the show of his godson chased by the flock of girls.

"I saw that."

"But I like it so far, they're really great guys there…"

"Yeah…"

"I met this group: Ginny, Draco, Padma, Ron and Hermione, they're nice."

"They are," said  Remus Lupin. "And good dancers, in particular Ginny and Draco."

"Hermione isn't that bad too," cut Harry.

"Miss Granger never showed this amount of skill before, she's rather discreet," said Remus

"Did you know she run in the morning too, I met her this morning and we ran together."

"Oh!" Sirius exclaimed in a suggestive tone.

"Sirius! Did you already forget I already have a girlfriend?"

"Yes, the great Emily!"

"What do you have against her?"

"I don't like her, that's all."

"Anyway, Hermione is a really good dancer… I had an easy time with the lift for once."

"It seemed so… But I was wondering if it was because of you…"

"No, she's talented, but she was really tensed the second time we did it."

"That's the problem with her. Apparently she's skilled but very shy," commented Remus.

"But you made a great pair," said Sirius, "maybe you can help her."

"I wouldn't mind, I really enjoy dancing with her?"

"So she's a possibility?" asked Sirius, curious.

"Definitively, I have other names in mind too…. But now I have to go or the teacher will have my hide, and I told Hermione I'll join her!"

As he left, he missed the look between the two men. He closed the door.

"So, what do you think Remus?"

"There's something going on, I've never seen him that enthusiast…"

"So Miss Granger it is…."

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Well I hope it wasn't too bad… Anyway thanks a lot for reviewing!

Naia


	3. Settling in

A/N : Hi everyone!

Well, long time not written. Anyway here is the next chapter.

I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews and their comments. I still can't believe how many of you reviewed this! It really reassured me to see people liking this story.. Even if it's quite cliché! 

I hope you'll like this chapter too.

Thanks to Rishi for helping me with this story and his suggestions.

Thanks again to all the reviewers, you keep me writing!

Naia

Chapter Three 

Harry ran to the classroom, knocking on the door as he tried to catch his breath.

"Enter."

He opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind him.

"Mr Potter, take a seat, I was told you would be a little late."

"Sorry professor." He sat behind Hermione, next to a tall boy with sandy blond hair, Yan, he thought the boy was."

"Don't worry. Now, as I was saying, this year, the school governors decided to make the works of Shakespeare the theme of the Literature's classes."

Hushed whispers ran around the room.

Professor Vector held his hands together.

"Now, to make this a bit livelier, I've decided to make this a type of project. During the year, we'll study Hamlet, Richard II and Richard III. Then, you'll have to do research on another of his works. You'll work in group of four. You'll have to study the piece and by the end of the year, each group will do a little presentation of the piece on which he worked, as well as play one of the scenes. You'll be authorized to borrow costumes from Mrs Pince."

People started to speak, trying to decide on which piece they would be working.

"Silence, please. Now, I prepared a paper with the name of some of Shakespeare's works I want you to work on. Make your group and then you have the week to decide which one you want to work on. Next time, I want the name of your piece and your group's composition."

Immediately, Hermione turned to Ginny and Draco, and asked them if they could work together.

"No problem."

Harry tapped her on the shoulder. 

"Excuse me, do you mind if I join you?"

Draco shrugged, as the two girls nodded. Looking around, Hermione noticed that three other groups were now forming. They were only fifteen in this group. So there would have to be a group of three. 

"Well, now that this is done, I'll give you a general introduction on Shakespeare. Now, the Barb was born in."

He started to tell the biography of the British poet and writer.

The hour passed quickly, Professor Vector was always very interesting in his way to describe, using funny phrases, telling small anecdotes on the people he was talking of. Soon , it was time for History lesson.

"Shit!"

Draco avoided the sharp glare the two girls sent him.

"Draco!"

"Oh! Ginny, don't look at me like this, like you never swear! I forgot my pillow!"

The red head smirked.

"Well, you can always share mine."

"I might just take you on this offer."

Harry looked at them strangely.

"I thought we had History now, didn't we?"

Ginny shook her head.

"Harry, Harry, Harry, this is the reason why we need a pillow." She looked patronizingly at him. "You'll understand soon enough."

Hermione had kept silent during the whole exchange. She had given up on having her friend pay attention, even she wasn't listening to her teacher anymore. During her second year, she had noticed that he was taking his lessons out of an old book, hidden deep in the library. She had gone to every bookshop and had finally found one of the books in a small one. Since then, she had always brought something else to work on for this hour. The teacher didn't care what his students were doing he was half deaf, due to his age, and sometimes thought Hermione, quite blind, unless he didn't bother anymore, doing what he was being paid for, nothing more. From the gossips she had overheard, she knew he should have retired years ago, but that the Headmaster had never had the heart to tell him to leave.

"So, in which group are Ron and Padma?"

Hermione smiled at him.

"They are in the Average one, with most of your fan club, may I precise."

"Good. At least I will have two hours of rest."

They settled in the classroom and waited for the teacher to come. 

As usual he was ten minutes late, he put his bag on the desk, took out his book, opened it at the first page and started to read. As he droned on the world's condition in 1939 just before the Second World War, the whole class shut him out. Some started chatting quietly together, others took out some books, or some work. Ginny and Draco had sat in the back and were currently talking softly, but Harry saw Draco's hand rubbing Ginny's back gently. He looked around, trying to recognize some of the people in the room.  He recognized Cho and Cedric, who were currently doing the same thing that Ginny and Draco. Oliver Wood was also here. There was this Blaise Zabini, the other he didn't remembered. Slowly he went over what he had learned in the past hours.

Sure he couldn't decide on first impressions, but he already had some names in mind. His parents had been clear about it; one of the main reasons of his coming to Hogwarts was to scout for future members of the company. James and Lily had created their company's like this. They had chosen members around their age, and were employing younger dancers only when necessary.  The lack of age's difference was helping keeping the company together; most of the time, it was hard for youths and adults to live together and work together for a long time. Harry would create his own dance's group with those he wanted. Of course there surely would be some changes over the years but the core of the company would remain the same.

Ginny and Draco, both really good and social, even if you took in the young man's sarcasm. the same went for Cho, Oliver and Cedric. He had noticed a few others as well, and then, there were the Girls. They were very good ballerinas, he had to give it to them, but didn't have the personality he sought. He remembered his mother's words clearly: "you can always improve technically, learn more, but you'll never be able to change a character." No, if they kept it like this, they were a no.

Hermione. Now here was a mystery. This girl was puzzling him. She had a great technique, nearly as good as his, if not better in some fields, but she seemed to hold back everything. She thought too much, he decided. Well he'll just have to teach her to relax. Anyway he was quite lucky to have her for partner, she would be able to keep up with him as long as technique was concerned, he would have to only make her see that loosening up a bit wouldn't hurt her.

He thought back about the ballet. He tried to guess who was going to be who. Draco, Cho, Ginny, Oliver and Cedric would surely get one of the leads. As for Kalia's role, well he couldn't decide. The red-head could manage it, Cho too, maybe even Parvati or Lavender. Anyway they had two months to work for this. 

He had been happy to know that Viktor and Fleur were going to come to Hogwarts and was looking forwards seeing them again. They had joined his parent's company last year, being in the graduating class of their school and seen as promising dancers. Beauxbâtons and Durmstrang both sent their students in some companies for some time. James and Lily had always accepted to take the best dancers of the graduating classes. It might be seen as presumptuous, but they had a reputation to live up to. 

He jolted out of his thoughts and looked around, the teacher, Pr. Binns was droning over the political context of Europa in 1939, describing the different countries involved or something like this. Hermione was concentrating over something, glancing at the paper, he was startled to see things written in what looked like ancient Greek. 

"You can write ancient Greek?"

Hermione's head snapped up. She relaxed slightly upon seeing him.

"You scared me."

"Sorry, but you didn't answer my question?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"I thought it was obvious."

"So you can."

"Two points for you Sherlock."

"What are you writing?"

Hermione looked closely at him and he understood the message.

"Alright, sorry, I was being my usual nosy self."

"No need," she put the paper back in her bag. "So what do you want to work on tonight?"

"Well I thought we could try to choose a music and theme. and why not thinking up some moves."

Hermione shrugged.

"Ok, where do you want to do it?"

"Well, my room is out of question, too messy, we won't be able to work in it."

"Well, we can use one of the classrooms."

"Do you think we'll be left alone?"

"Well. Knowing Parvati and Lavender, no."

"So where?"

Hermione remained silent, they could come to her room, there would be enough place to work, as the graduating students were given quite large room. But she was unsure about allowing Harry, someone she barely knew into her sanctuary. But then, they had to work. She had been thinking about bringing him to her secret room, but had finally decided against it, not before she knew him a bit more.

She sighed.

"Alright, we can go to mine, but next time we're going to yours."

"Ok, I'll tidy it."

"You'd better." She replied, taking out a book and starting reading.

Harry smiled at this, yes this girl was quite an enigma. 

Speaking of girl he had to write Emily. He had promised her he would as soon as he could. He missed his girlfriend a lot. He wondered what she was doing. She was spending the year at an acting school. They had met two years earlier, at a party his parents had thrown. The company's member and their families had been invited to it. Emily and him had immediately hit off. They had kept on writing to each other, met several times with some of their other common friends, and finally Harry had mustered enough courage to ask her out. To his surprise, she had accepted. Since then they had been inseparable, even during the school year they went to each other almost every night, working together, talking, kissing or snogging or simply snuggling together, none of them had desired to go further than some little caresses, wanting to save it for the right time. This would be the first time they'd be separated for more than a week. They had planned to see each other on some free week ends and during the holidays. He pictured her features in his mind: thick reddish brown locks going past her shoulder blade, amber eyes, thick eye lashes, she was quite tall, nearly as tall as him, with a slender figure. Her voice was a wonder. Years at an acting school had taught her how to modulate it, how to use every nuances of it. She was a great singer and Harry had always loved to hear her sing.

He looked at his watch, noticing that there were only fifteen minutes left.

Good, he didn't think he could bear more of this droning.

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Hermione had first worked on some geometry's problems, but after resolving a few, had been reluctant to work on anything, she had then resorted to her usual hobby, writing new moves, melodies, poems, short stories, dreams. She liked to put her ideas on paper. However she didn't want to share this with anyone one, not even her friends, it was her private little world, which is why she was using ancient Greek, knowing the odds of someone knowing this ancient language and finding her papers were slim to none. She had had this melody in her head for the whole lesson.

Humming it lowly, she sucked her pen, trying to find the right words, but before she could resume her writing she was startled out of her day-dreaming.

She looked up, noticing that Harry was starring at her paper. A bit annoyed at having been interrupted, she listened as he tried to question her about it.

She finally sent him a stern look, clearly stating to stay out of her business.

They started to talk about the duet they had to work on, and Hermione sighed as she realized they'd have to go to her room to work.

As she said so, he told her he'd tidy his for next time

She snorted at this, ha! A boy, tidy something, she was looking forwards seeing this feat!

Seeing the discussion was over, she took out "The Lord of the Ring" and started reading, as it was too late to start anything else.

Fifteen minutes later, the bell rang and they all rushed outside

She went straight to the hall, wanting to eat before the rush of all the older students. Moreover she didn't want people to see Harry Potter and her leave together, she knew she was on the black list of Parvati's group, no need to give them other reasons of resentment.

"Hermione! Wait!"

She slowed down a bit, and soon Harry was at her side.

"Where is the fire?"

She racked her brain for a good reason, besides her true ones.

"Well, I don't want to see your fan club, if they notice you you'll be stuck with them for ages and we won't get any work done."

As she said that, Harry immediately quickened his pace and she nearly had to run to keep up with him, smirking.

As they arrived in the hall, the younger years were leaving. Hermione went to take something to eat before settling at a table. If she remembered what Ron had told her, they had had their last class with Pr. Snape, and if the man was true to himself, he was going to hold the class a bit longer. So it gave Harry and her about fifteen minutes to eat and leave before they arrived.

She ate quickly, putting an apple in her bag for later.

As she heard people coming, she stood up and went to place her plate on the tray going back to the kitchen. Harry followed her lead, and they managed to exit the Hall before Parvati or some people of her clique arrived.

Harry was looking back at the Hall with longing, he turned to Hermione.

"Next time, I don't care, I want to take more time to eat."

Hermione shrugged, she wasn't going to be the one to throw girls off of her back.

"As you want, now come on."

She led him to her room. The upper years where placed in the west wing, girls on the fourth floor, boys on the fifth. She took the stairs, to warm herself up.

Finally they arrived at the fourth floor.

"Was it necessary to take the stairs?" he said, barely out of breath, but as she had been with him this morning, she knew why.

"No, but it's a good warm-up"

Conceding her the point, Harry nodded and followed her through the corridor. The doors had the names of their occupant written on. He noticed that Hermione's was one of the furthest from the lifts, but the closest to a small flight of stairs.

"Where is this staircase leading?"

"Well, up you end at the top of the West tower. You should go there at night, the view is amazing."

"Isn't it a bit crowded? I mean if both girls' and boys' floor are linked to this tower." he didn't finish his sentence, its meaning implicit but quite clear.

Hermione smirked.

"The couples don't come there. there are other places much more comfortable for them. Ask Draco and Ginny, they should know most of them. The top of the tower is completely open, no place to hide. those who come here sometimes are the Astronomy's freaks and even them like the North tower better. Plus this tower is said to be haunted." she trailed off, an innocent look on her face, but a strange gleam in her eyes which didn't go unnoticed by Harry.

"Really?" he said, smirking.

"Yes."

"And you wouldn't happen to know anything about this, by chance?"

"Me?", she replied with a bewildered expression which didn't fool Harry.

Harry didn't answered but his smirk widened.

"Well, back to business, if you go down, it leads you outside, I take it every morning to go running. That's why I asked to have this room, everybody else prefer to be close to the lifts. Now, come on, we've got work to do."

Taking out a magnetic card, she placed it in a small black box. A small click was heard and taking her card back, she pushed the door, motioning to Harry to enter, closing the door behind them, locking it to be sure not to be bothered.

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Harry looked around. The room was quite big and Hermione had apparently disposed everything to create a large space in the middle, with a mirror on the wall, no doubt to practice. The room was done, like all the others, in the same beige and blue colors, with creamy curtains at the window. Several shelves were running on the walls, all of them covered with books, dance magazine, dancing videos. He noticed that most of his parents' works were on them, as well as all the most famous ballets by the best companies. On other shelves lay a few medals, coming closer, he saw that it was gymnastics' medals.

"You did gymnastics?"

Hermione shrugged.

"Yes, I had to choose between it and dance, and well I liked dance better and to be truthful I wasn't that great at it."

Looking at the prizes placed on the shelves, Harry was a little disbelieving, but it explained why her technique was so good. Resuming his examination of the room, his eyes swept over the desk, tidied, the papers classed and ordered. There were some shoes laying on one side of the room. Posters were hung on the wall, most of them ballet's posters, along with a few paintings, mostly animals or landscapes. Her wardrobe was in the back. A door on the right must be leading to the bathroom; the bed was placed next to the wardrobe, along the wall, were some stuffed animals near the pillow. Photographs were standing on the bedpost, with small trinkets and jewellery. Something placed near the bed caught his attention,

"You play the cello?"

Hermione who was busy taking her radio out of a box, along with her CD, turned around, before returning to her task.

"Yes, occasionally, I don't have a lot of time for it. Are you done? Is my room Ok with you?"

Harry was a bit embarrassed at this, he had thought he had been discreet about it.

"It's a nice room."

"Thanks, now, have a look at my CDs to see if there is something you like, if there isn't, maybe you could go take yours?"

Harry nodded, looking at the huge pile of CDs. Seeing his surprised look, Hermione smiled.

"I've been collecting CD's for a long time."

"I can see that.How did you manage to put all of them in your bag?"

"It's called organization," she replied evenly.

Dismissing her comment, he started to browse through the pile. This girl had taste, he had also most of them, and some of his favourites were there. He started to put aside those he thought could be interesting as well as those he didn't know.

It left him with about a third of the original number of CDs. Looking at the pile, Hermione smiled.

"Well, let's listen to them."

Nodding Harry stood up from where he had been kneeling while he had been having a look at the CDs. He looked around and finally sat on the bed, Hermione sitting cross legged on the floor, the remote control in her hands, leaning on the wall next to the bed. Her radio sat or was kept next to her.

They quickly went over the first fifteen Harry knowing them already as well as Hermione. Finally a melody started. Immediately, Harry's attention was caught. He didn't know it. Listening carefully to it, as he had been taught, he found himself liking it more and more. It was musical part of a song, he finally recognized. As it came to an end, he turned to look at Hermione and smiled as he saw her, eyes closed, quietly humming the melody.

She opened her eyes and he was surprised by the intensity of her gaze.

"I love this song."

"It's a great one, let's have a look at the rest, but this one could do."

With a nod of agreement, the young ballerina skipped to the next one. They listened to the remaining CDs, but though some had great things on them, Harry couldn't get the melody he had heard before out of his head. 

"Could you put the one we had put aside before? I'd like to listen to it again."

Wordlessly, Hermione put the CD back in the CD player and put it on the right track.

The music shot up again.

Minutes later, Harry looked down at her.

"I think we've found our music." he said quietly. 

"Yes, definitively."

With care the brown-haired girl place the CD back in its box.

"Well, I think we can call it a night. How about we think about some moves each on our own, I'll give you a copy of it tomorrow, this way next time we meet, we can put our ideas together and begin working on the choreography?"

"Why not? When do you want to meet again?"

"Well tomorrow evening we have Pr Snape, as well as the day after in the morning, so we'll need the evening to work, what about Thursday?"

"Alright. Where?"

Hermione shot him a withering look, so Harry thought it best to explain himself.

"If we want to work on some moves, I think we'd better have more space. There won't be enough in my room."

Hermione frowned. He had a point there.

"Well, there're some unused classrooms on the sixth floor, or we can ask a teacher for a room, and a key to keep your fan club away."

Harry thought about it for a minute.

"I think the latter is the best. I don't want to risk a punishment this early in the year."

"As you wish," Hermione started to order her CDs.

"Alright, I'll go speak with Sirius, he won't lake difficulties."

"Pr Black?"

"He's my godfather."

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Really, good then."

"Well, I'll be going then, see you tomorrow, I'll ask him then."

"OK, I'll give you the copy in. What language's course did you take?"

"Russian, you?"

"Not French? Most of the school took it, since the teachers are mostly using French terms."

"I already know it,"

"Vraiment? Depuis longtemps?" (Really ? For a long time?)

"Depuis quatre ans." (For four years)

"Good accent, you had a private tutor?"

"Yes. you?"

"I took French for my first five years here and I went to France each summer for a month-long summer dancing camp."

"Alright, but you didn't tell me which language you are taking."

"You should go, it's nearly curfew time," replied Hermione, herding him out, pushing his bag and jacket in his hand.

"Hermione!" his voice was whiny.

"We'll see each other tomorrow morning in Language, or outside if you go running!" She said, finally pushing him out, and closing the door smiling at his outraged face, then his smile as he realized she had answered, well, in a twisted way, but answered nonetheless. Shaking his head, he strode to the boy's floor and to his own room, reflecting on his first day. Once he entered his room, he closed, locked the door and propped on his bed, taking out his cell phone and dialing a number.

"Good evening, could I talk to Emily please? Thank you. How are you?. Fine thank you, the school is great, but I'm missing everyone.. OK, thank you!. Emily?!. I'm missing you like crazy too, love.So how was your day."

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Weeks passed quickly, the students falling in the school's routine. Hermione hadn't been wrong. Pr Snape was as mean as ever. He was usually ignoring her, as she was friend with Draco and that the teacher liked the blond boy, but apparently Harry wasn't beneficiating of the same immunity. There seemed to be a grudge of some sort between the teacher and his student. Harry was ignoring it most of the time, venting his irritation at the teacher later, but the professor seemed to know which buttons to push to get a reaction from his students and was using it to his advantage. It didn't help that, though average in Chemistry, Harry seemed to ace Physics, something that irritated the Professor to no end, since he couldn't find fault in the dark-haired dancer's work, without giving him reason to complain, he was however taking revenge of this in Chemistry's lesson.

Besides that, life went on. After two weeks the girls had relented on what Hermione and her friends had called 'Harry chasing', to said boy's relief. Harry had integrated well in the school, and had quickly became friends with Ginny, Draco, Padma, Ron and Hermione. Hermione had been waiting for retaliation from Lavender and Parvati, to her surprise, they had not tried anything against her, probably because everyone was working for the casting which was approaching. Unknown to her, Draco and Ginny had had a little talk with the two ring-leaders: meaning Lavender and Parvati, warning them that should anything out of ordinary happen to Hermione, they'l rue the day they had decided to cross them. It had apparently been effective. 

As the casting drew nearer, Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum had arrived two weeks earlier. Both of them seemed to be good friends of Harry. Hermione had to admit that at first, like all the girls of the school, she had been envious of the young woman. Fleur was absolutely stunning, the dream figure of every ballerina. But once she had gotten to know her a bit better, thanks to Harry, she had seen that under the arrogant façade, Fleur was a nice person to be around. 

Viktor was a nice person, not very talkative, but an excellent dancer, even if his appearance wasn't exactly the one of an Apollo. Hermione had discovered that he was quite an avid reader and they had talked several times, comparing their own reading, giving each other tips, or discussing an author. Hermione, as all the girls in her year, had worked the Kalia and Istyan's duet with Viktor a few times. They had finished learning it at the end of last month and since then had been refining the details of the highly technical duet. Hermione wasn't worried. As she wasn't seeking a role in particular, she didn't have that pressure on her shoulders. So she was enjoying working with Viktor. The young man was a really good dancer. She could compare him to Harry, even if she personally thought the younger man to be better, in her minds, Harry had a natural talent at dancing, a sort of flair at it, that Viktor, though gifted, lacked.

The duet with Harry was coming along nicely, they had nearly finished it, and they just had to precise the movements for the last thirty seconds of music. Hermione was slightly nervous about this, but was reassured by Harry's calmness. She was currently waiting for him, growing slightly annoyed at him. He was ten minutes late. Ten more minutes later, she was seething, if there was one thing she abhorred, it was lateness. Taking her bag, she looked for her cell phone. he'd better have a good reason or he was going to catch it. As usual, she had switched it off, not to be bothered by the thing. Furiously, she dialed her code and waited for it to activate, once it did, she saw she had a message waiting for her. Curious, she dialed a few touch and Harry's voice echoed in her ear.

"Sorry, Hermione, but I won't be able to come tonight, I'm sorry. Emily arrived half an hour ago, and we're going out. I hope you don't mind. Sorry again!"

Grimly, she switched off her phone. She could understand his desire to go out with his girlfriend, they had seen each other for three weeks: between Hogwarts and the girl's own schooling, the two of them could barely see each other, except on a few week ends. But they could have planned this! This way she'd been warned wouldn't have wasted time! She knew Harry was phoning her every night, or Emily was calling him. They were writing each other too. Well, Harry was, Hermione are rarely seen a letter for Harry from her. 

Those two was very much in love, and that was for sure. Sighing, she decided to work a bit on her own. Taking a random CD, she put it on the track and came to stand in front of the glass. 

Slowly, she let the music enter her. she loved this, to dance what her heart desired, alone, in her own world, without people judging her or expecting things from her. The music was a slow, solemn music, a romance of Schumann, she thought. Slowly, she started to move, her movements slow and dignified, like the music, her body radiating haughtiness. She enchained slow chained turns, on her pointes, her arms in crown, before slowing her last turn, emphasizing it with her arms and bending her back a little, the music then accelerated and she followed it, completely lost to the dance. 

Breaking in an enchainment of quick steps, jumps and spins, she finally did a series of chasse, gliding over the floor, she enchained a two petit jetés, then a grand jeté, feeling like flying, receiving herself perfectly, she did two chasse, before starting a pirouette, trying to do as many spins as possible, feeling dizzy, she slowed the last one, extending her leg, nearing the edge of balance, before finishing it, her arms falling to her side, as the music slowed down and took an haunting theme. Her movements became light, like shadows moving. She moved with grace, trying to express the pain she was feeling from this melody, finally it came to a end and left her emptied of everything but strangely contented. She breathed deeply, and nearly jumped out of her skin, when clapping erupted from the door. She had closed the door and locked it!

Whirling on her heels, she saw Pr. Flitwick leaning against the closed door, she had been so immersed in her dancing she hadn't even noticed him entering.

"That was. wonderful, Hermione," he finally said, his eyes shining as he looked the young woman over. This was what he was looking for in a ballerina, passion, grace, this eerie stance, this haunted look in the eyes, this abandon. He had been teaching for years in this school and rarely had he seen such a potential, such restrained passion. This year there were great dancers in the graduating class. Ginny Weasley, Cho Chang were some of his best students, both excellent dancers with great acting skills who were going to make great ballerinas, dancers whose carriers he would have pleasure to follow, but they didn't have this passion, this abandon. They loved dancing, that was for sure, but they weren't possessed by it as they danced. He looked carefully over the young ballerina and for the first time, truly understood the level Hermione Granger could reach if she managed to let her skills show. He saw a young woman who could become a famous prima ballerina, one who would leave her mark.

"Professor, I didn't see you coming," answered Hermione, nervously.

"I'm happy you didn't, it was marvelous."

Hermione blushed at the unexpected compliment. 

"It was nothing. I was just dancing."

The Professor looked at her a twinkle in his eyes.

"Exactly, you were dancing, for the first time since you came to this school, I really saw you dance."

Hermione frowned at this.

"Professor?"

The small professor approached his student.

"Hermione, when you're in my class and that I ask you to improvise, what is your first reflex?"

Hermione's frown deepened. In a small, confused voice, she answered her teacher.

"Well. I'm trying to guess what you would want me to do."

The man cut her.

"Here is the problem, when you were dancing, a few minutes ago, were you thinking about what you had to do?"

Hermione thought about it for a while.

"N-No, I was dancing. I couldn't think, I-I. I don't know to explain."

"That's why you can't truly dance in my class, you're doing it with your head, not with your heart."

"But."

"If you want to truly dance, you must find yourself in the state you were a few minutes ago, you mustn't think, you must feel, that's all." He looked as the confused young woman in front of him. "Feeling, it's the key word in dancing. without feeling, there is a technical display, but there's no real dancing. try to remember it"

She nodded.

"Think about it Hermione, and if you have a question for me, don't hesitate to come and see, I'll be glad to help you."

He smiled at her.

"I hope to see you dance like this in front of a public one day." He added as he passed the door.

Hermione starred at the door as he left, trying to register what had happened. 

In a daze, she gathered her things and went to her room, her mind replaying one of the most confusing conversations she ever had.

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The next morning, she went running, her mind still on what Pr. Flitwick had told her. She barely noticed that Harry wasn't there. A bit surprised, she dismissed the thought. If he had been out for the night, he wasn't going to be up at 5 am. Once she was done, she went back to her rooms, and got ready for the day. It was a Thursday so they didn't have academic lessons in the morning before the dancing ones. Entering the Hall, she spotted Ginny, Draco, Ron, Padma and Harry eating together at a table on the right side. She walked to them after taking something to eat. Looking at them, she immediately saw they were tired.

"What did you do last night?"

Ginny sighed as Draco extended his hand towards Ron, who grumbled, placing some bills in it.

"You don't remember, Hermione?" Seeing the bewildered look on her friend's face, she shook her head. no, obviously you don't. Party? At Rosmerta's?"

Understanding dawned on Hermione's features.

"Oh yes! Did you have fun?"

Ron shot her a look, apparently still holding her responsible for his lost bet.

"You would know if you had agreed to come. You never come with us to parties."

"Ronald Weasley, I won't even bother to answer you, since we already had this discussion a few times already."

Padma smiled at her.

"Well, Hermione, it was great, Rosemerta hired a new band with the cutest singer. We saw Harry and his girl in town and took them with us." She turned to Harry. "Emily is a bit. odd at times."

Harry smiled at this.

"She's great. She had fun with you last night by the way."

"So, Hermione," said Ginny, "There's a Christmas party at Rosemerta's, and we were wondering if."

"Ginny, no."

"But."

"Please. I don't want to go. I'll be a fifth wheel. and I don't like parties."

"Come on Hermione! Don't be a wet blanket!" said Ron.

Hermione glared at him.

"I'll be a wet-blanket if I want. I said I didn't want to go."

Ron seemed about to insist, but Hermione didn't leave him time to do. Taking the remains of her breakfast, she stood up, placed them on the tray and left the Hall.

Draco looked at her retreating back.

"Well done Ronald." he drawled.

Ginny placed a hand on her brother's arm, indicating to him to keep his temper in check.

Harry looked at them.

"What was that?"

"That was Hermione and parties.," sighed Padma.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, making her elaborate.

"She had always refused to come to parties, balls. No matter what, it's always no. Most of the time she has an excuse: she has to tutor someone, or she has work to do."

Ginny looked up, a determined glint in her eyes.

"Not this time, She'll come to this party even if I have to tie her up, gagged her and carry her myself to Rosemerta."

Draco looked at his girlfriend, with a dubious expression.

"Well, good luck, you're going to need it. She'll never come. And if there's a thing I know about Hermione, it's that she's as stubborn as they come once she has set her mind on something."

"I'll agree with Draco on this," said Ron, drawing surprised looks to him.

"What?"

"Well," started Padma, "it's. rare to see you agree with Draco."

The two boys smirked at each other.

"Well, on this I have to. she won't come, I'm ready to bet anything that she has a nice little list of reasons why she can't come."

This did nothing to deter the younger girl, if only it made her only more determined to prove her brother and her boyfriend wrong.

"We'll see."

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By the end of the day, Hermione was ready to kill the next person to mention the word 'party'. She had been reassured in Expression class to see that the Professor had not changed his attitude towards her. But the constant nagging from Ginny was drawing her patience thin. She saw said girl approached her again at the end of the relaxation period, as Trelawney exited the room. Hermione disliked this professor. The relaxation methods she was teaching were rubbish in her mind. Really making them sit in a circle, cross-legged, holding their neighbor hand, and trying to open their minds to the calming vibrations in the air, as well as breathing deeply. Sure! Hermione didn't know what kinds of herbs she was burning to help them clear and open their minds to the vibrations, but she was damn well set on not inhaling too much of this smoke. 

Upon seeing the red head open her mouth, she raised her hand cutting her effectively.

"Ginny, please... No, I won't go to the party. I don't want to, I have work to do. I don't have any party clothes and neither you nor Padma can lend me some. I don't have anyone to go with and don't want to be a fifth wheel, so go to this damned party, enjoy yourself, but please don't try to drag me into this."

She looked at her friend, putting up her best puppy face, adding just the amount of pleading she knew it would take to get Ginny off her back.

Sighing the red-head, shook her head.

"But Hermione, I'd like you to have some fun for once, you're always staying in the castle, you never go out! Won't it kill you to come with us for once? To spend a good time with your friends?"

She saw Hermione's face twist a bit.

"Ginny, don't you remember when I came with you to the Easter party two years ago? We had a great time for the first hour, then you and Draco went to dance, Ron went god know where with his girlfriend of the moment, and Padma went to see some of her friends, I went with her, but I didn't know any of them so it was uncomfortable. I don't want to repeat this. So, go, and have a great time, I don't mind staying in the castle."

Ginny looked torn. sure she remembered this party, she had managed to get her to come, for once, only because she had told her that some group was coming to sing and that said group happened to be a favorite of Hermione. Unfortunately, there had been a problem and another group had come. After an hour, her and Draco had parted from the others, she had thought that Ron and Padma would stay with Hermione, but two hours later, she had seen Ron in a corner, snogging his girlfriend, and had spotted Padma talking animatedly with a childhood friend. Looking around, she hadn't found Hermione and had learnt the next day that the girl had left the party after more than two hours.

She had felt so guilty, and had apologized profusely to the older girl who had dismissed it, saying it was nothing and that she was glad she had had a good time.

But since then it had been impossible to make Hermione come to another party. not that it had been easy before.

She sometimes wondered how she came to become friend with the silent serious girl. In reality it had been quite circumstantial: She had been approached with the proposition to be moved up directly in fourth year instead of third at the beginning of said third year. She more than had the dancing level to do it, but would have to be tutored in academic subjects until she had caught up completely with her soon to be classmate.

She had agreed immediately, honored by it. Hermione had been the one asked to tutor her since her academics were quite outstanding.   

She remembered having been taken aback by the girl at first. Hermione had been kind, but business-like. She had been willing to help her as well as she could but hadn't tried to make any attempt to be friends with her. 

However, little by little, Hermione had relaxed with her, and Ginny had come to see the girl for who she was: a golden heart with a sharp wit and humor, but extremely shy and hating the attention. 

Hermione lived and breathed dancing, that much Ginny had realized, having once stumbled on her while Hermione had thought she was alone in the West tower. But not only classical dancing, any form of dance.  The subject had come up in one of their discussion during the tutoring, Hermione had told her she was usually entering dancing camp for the holidays, but not exclusively classical dancing camp. She had admitted having learnt most of ballroom dances mostly known and even some others like rock'n roll.   
The girl was frustrating some time. to know that she was so good at this but too shy to show it! Sometimes, Ginny wanted to take her by the shoulders, shook her until she understood how good she was!

Since this tutor period, she had always considered the girl as a friend even if she knew Hermione had expected her to forget about her once the tutoring was over. Well, Ginny hadn't think so. She had presented her to her brother and Padma, a girl with whom she had gotten quite close in class, as she had been put in Average at first. But under Hermione's tutoring you were force to get great grades, so she had been moved to Advanced level by the middle of the year. 

She had met Draco then and their first meeting hadn't been exactly nice. What a row they had had. She smiled at the memory and it had started about a chair. But it was known that Weasleys and Malfoys didn't mix well. After three months of shouting matches each times they saw each other, snide comments or insults, Hermione had taken her aside one day after class, telling her she was playing Draco's game and that he was enjoying her loosing her cool and getting punished for her outbursts. Hermione told her that ignoring him was the best solution, that it would riled him to see a Weasley and most of all a girl ignore him.

Ginny had follow her advise and for the rest of the year had completely ignored him. Finding it extremely amusing to see his annoyance at being unable to get her worked up enough for her to lose her cool. Hermione even gave her a small diary to write everything and vent her anger. That had been the thing which had made Ginny determined to remain Hermione's friend: this small gesture. She had carried on with her ignoring Malfoy attitude for the beginning of her fifth year. 

What she hadn't been counting on was that this attitude had caught the attention of the older boy, who was now set on getting her to acknowledge him..

Six months later he asked her out and they had been together since then, no matter how much their families had tried to break them up.

She had never told Draco that Hermione had been the one to advise her to ignore him and who had been in a way responsible of them getting together. She had introduced the two of them and Draco who already knew her had been intrigued at first by the quiet ballerina and had finally took a liking to her since she was on of the rare people spare Ron, Ginny and sometimes Padma, that wouldn't be fazed by his sarcasm and would give as good as they got. Ginny smiled, if Hermione was pushed enough her come-backs put her on the same level than Draco.

Turning back to the problem at hand she tried to find a solution. She wanted Hermione to come to this party, and this time she would make sure the older girl wouldn't be left alone.

"Alright Hermione, just. think about it, ok?"

The brown-haired girl smiled at her.

"I will Ginny, but don't expect me to come."

At this moment Padma, Harry and the other boys approached them.

"Are you coming?" said Draco.

"Yeah."

Ron glanced at his watch.

"Come on Padma, or we're going to be late, not that Binns will mind though."

The girl nodded and the two of them went to their History class. Harry, Hermione, Draco and Ginny had a free period before their biology lesson.

"So what are you going to do?" Harry asked.

Draco looked at Ginny.

"Well, I wanted to know if you wanted to try the rock'n roll with me? For the party."

Ginny smiled at him, nodding her agreement. She then turned to Harry and Hermione. 

"You can come if you want."

Draco draped his arms around her shoulders.

"This way you'll see how you dance it."

Hermione shrugged, and Harry agreed easily.

The four of them went to an unused classroom.

During the day, some rooms were always left opened for students to come in and practice, there was always a CD player left and some random CDs.

Closing the door, they put their bag away and Ginny went to chose a CD.

Immediately Draco and her started to dance under the gazes of Hermione and Harry, gazes which grew more and more confused at their friends movements. Once the music ended, Hermione looked at them, a bit unsettled.

"Pray tell what you were doing."

Ginny returned her look;

"Rock'n roll?"

Harry and Hermione couldn't help but share a glance. Harry voiced their opinion.

"That. was rock?"

The blond and the red head frowned at them, then Ginny whispered something in Draco's ear who smirked.

"Well, if you think you can do better." he retorted.

Harry seemed to be piqued at this comment and turned to Hermione.

"Do you how to dance it?"

She rolled her eyes before extending her hand which he took smiling, leading her to the middle of the room as Draco and Ginny moved to the side.  
Hermione was now relieved for all the Ballroom dancing lessons she had took when she was younger and the camp she had done.

As they started to dance, she found herself having fun as Harry proved to be as good as he was in classical dancing. Her partners in camp or in her lessons had never been that good. Draco and Ginny being the only others in the room, she didn't restrain herself from having fun. 

Unknown to her, Harry was having fun to. Emily wasn't that good of a dancer so he didn't get to do this with her, he thought as he twirled Hermione, leading her through a tricky series of steps. The good thing was that Hermione let her lead completely, and didn't try to make him do what she wanted. She trusted him to let him led them. And he had come to trust her skills and instinct as well as sense of rhythm. 

Finally the music stopped and they grinned at each other, both of them slightly out of breath.

Harry turned to Draco and Ginny who were clapping.

"This is rock." He bowed deeply to Hermione who flushed and bowed back, a little playfully.

"You realize that now you have no choice but teach us how to do this." said Draco. "I didn't know you knew rock'n roll Hermione."

She shrugged.

"I took ballroom classes when I was younger and did some camp where there were a lot of these dances."

"Good, now you can teach us, we still have forty minutes left."

Draco and Ginny got up and Harry and Hermione started to explain the two others the basic steps.

Forty minutes later, they left the room, a bit exhausted, but having enjoyed.

"We have another free period tomorrow," said Ginny, "what about doing it again?"

"Why not?"

"By the way, Harry, are you coming to the Christmas party?"

"I don't know, Emily can't come, she have finals the day after. And I really don't want to go there single to be mobbed by girls, thank you very much. It's a shame, I really wanted to come."

Draco had a thoughtful expression then grinned a bit.

"Well, in this case, why don't you ask Hermione to come with you? This way, you'll have a date, so your fan club will leave you in peace, well relatively. and Hermione will go out for once."

Hermione shot a murderous glare at the blond who just smiled. She was about to protest, when Harry, who seemed to have though this idea over, turned to her.

"Well, what do you think?."

"You don't have to. I'm sure you'll have no problem finding a date. Padma won't mind at all."

"But you're a better dancer, and this way I'll be able to show them how you dance salsa. Emily couldn't dance it last night."

"But."

"What? Scared?" Harry was mentally smirking, knowing that this would do the trick. He come to realize that no matter how shy Hermione was, she was competitive if pushed on the edge.

She shot him a small glare.

"Alright, I'll come with you, but you owe me one. And Ginny wipe this grin of your face."

"Yes! You're coming! Now, all we have to do is finding you a dress!"

Hermione sighed, massaging her temples, mentally cursing herself for agreeing to this, but she had said she would and she always kept her word.

They entered the biology classroom with a few minutes to spare and settled at their usual places, waiting for the teacher: Pr. Sprout.

As Ginny started to talk to her about dress and make up, Hermione sighed, it was going to be a looonnnggg evening.

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Well, what did you think of it?

Good, Bad? Boring? Let me know so I can make it better.

THANKS again to all of you that reviewed!

Naia


	4. Audition

Disclaimer : I don't own anything you'll recognize !

A/N: Long time, I know. Sorry for that.

Anyway I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Since the vocabulary appendix can't be posted as a chapter, I'll place it at the end of the first chapter, to help with the technical stuff.

Thanks a lot to Rishi for betaing this chapter and doing a great job. Thanks too to all of you that reviewed this story! Thanks!

Well, now off with the story.

**Chapter Four**

And a long evening it had been. Ginny had been into full party mode. As the biology lesson ended, she had covered the dress matter, debating over the best color for Hermione's complexion, as well as the cut she should choose for said dress. Then she started on make up. As dinner ended, she let it rest and started on the hair matter. This did it. Hermione turned to Harry.

"Harry, since you weren't here last night, we have to go work tonight." Her voice held a final tone and her 'you-better-agree' look left little choice for Harry. He simply nodded and a few minutes later they were out of the hall, their hasty retreat followed by the amused eyes of Draco which extended his hand towards Ron who placed a few coins in it, grumbling.

Quickly, both Harry and Hermione reached the room where they usually worked. Placing their bags against the wall, they set the CD player and started to stretch and warm up.

They worked for two hours, repeating the moves and finalizing the last part.

Hermione was enjoying this a lot. Harry had an easy going personnality which made it easier for her to loosen up.

The duet was something she had really taken a liking to, and Harry had suggested a few moves she had never heard of. They were tricky but the effect was spectacular when done right. She had loved the challenge they represented and the thrill of the adrenalin rush she got each time she performed them.

Harry looked at her.

"Well, how about we do it once more then call it a night?"

She nodded and settled into position.

They had modified the music a bit, thanks to some of Harry's friend: an introduction had been added to fit their idea. They had chosen the theme of a puppet and its master. Hermione played the part of the puppet and Harry was the master. During the duet, the puppet came to life and started to move, dragging the master into the dance.

Hermione took her position, sitting on the floor, her left leg laying, bend on the floor, the other crossed above it. The upper part of her body leaning on the upper knee, the arms stretched forwards.

As the first notes erupted in the room she started her breathing pattern to soothe her body and ready herself to the dance. She sensed Harry standing behind her and, as the main theme started, her head and torso shot up, the arms drawing a half circle above her head, as if strings had tugged her up. She fell back to her initial position and upon sensing Harry's hand on her head, started to stand up, while spinning slowly, ending on her pointes. 

Slowly they began to move, Hermione immersed in her puppet role. Pas de cheval, small steps on the right side, entrechat, arabesque, her left leg stretched behind, leaning on Harry's arms, letting herself be slowly spinned by the dark haired dancer. Then came a series of chassés, their hands clapsed together, followed by a lift: Harry crossed his arms in front of Hermione, thus crossing her own arms; while his hands glided to her waist, she raised her ams to the crown position as he lifted her easily to his shoulder. She let herself slide along his torso to land in his arms, carried bride style, her back arched slightly backward.

Suddenly there was a break in the music, the soft piano melody backed up by strings and a strong beat.  Hermione slipped from his arms and together they started a series of chassés in opposite directions, ending by a tour jeté. Perfectly synchronized, they performed a series of chained turns, drawing a circle on the floor and coming closer to each other, Hermione ending it by extending one of her leg and falling into arabseque's position, while Harry closed the distance between them by two huge tricky leaps. As he landed near her, she bent the leg supporting her and gave a small impulsion as Harry's hands closed on her waist and behind her knee. As he lifted her, she lifted her stretched leg behind her, taking her feet into her hand, forming a nice arch, as her back bended backwards, taking the position of the ballerinas of music boxes.

They kept on dancing, following the music, closing on each other before parting to come together again. 

Finally as the music came to an end, Hermione started a pirouette, Harry chaining several tours jetés around her to end at her side as she slowed her last spin, ending in his arms. At this point, only the piano was left. They did a slow pas de bourré, before Hermione let herself fall on the floor, like a life less puppet, her feet sliding in opposite direction until she was on the ground, Harry slowling her fall, standing near her, his eyes on her as she let her torso rest on the leg stretched in front. They waited a few seconds in silence, both of them breathing heavily. Harry sat heavily next to Hermione as she changed her position to a more comfortable one.

"I think we got it."

She nodded.

"Yes, they're a few details to work on, but you're right."

"Well, it would be for another day, I'm beat! All I want now is a nice warm bed."

Hermione shot him a stern look.

"If you're thinking about skipping the stretching, think again. You won't leave the room before we're done with it."

Harry shot her a smile.

"You're merciless, my fair lady."

She huffed.

"I'm sparring you sore limbs, my dear sir."

"And with a perfect reason for everything."

"You better remember that."

They stretched slowly in silence. Then, once they were done, put the player back in the cupboard and put their sweat-shirts back on. 

"Is your mother done with your costume?"

Hermione's mother had always liked to sew and had been happy to help when Hermione had phoned her about the costume she wanted for this duet.

Harry had phoned his parents which had sent him what he needed, one of the advantage of being the son of two ballet stars.

"Yes, I should receive it in a few days."

"Good, I think we'll have to repeat a few time with them to get used to them," said Harry as he shouldered his bag.

"Probably, we have two more weeks before the D-Day." Hermione was a bit nervous. Not as stressed as the others since she wasn't aiming at one of the leads, but a bit skittish at the idea of having to dance in front of all the Professors.

Harry grinned cheekily.

"We'll be ready and you'll be great, Hermione, don't worry. Do you see me worrying? No? Then you don't have to."

She rolled her eyes.

"As if you had to be worry. You'll be Istyan, that's a given."

Harry shrugged.

"Draco or Oliver, even Cedric could get the role too," he said.

Hermione shook her head as they left the room, locking it behind them.

"As if! Even Draco is saying you will and is betting on it."

The dark haired grinned at this.

"Well, if Draco is betting on it…."

Hermione cut him, smirking a bit. 

"Harry, you have to know that Draco won't bet on something without being sure to win."

"Doesn't it defeat the purpose of gambling?"

"That's Draco for you, why do you think only Ron still gambles with him?"

"He likes to take risks?" tried Harry, innocently.

Hermione snorted at this.

"If you say so…"

They kept on talking as they climbed the stairs up to their rooms and parted, each of them going to their bed.

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The days before the casting passed quickly in a swirl of repetitions. Viktor and Fleur were working non-stop. Stress was rising as the day drew nearer. Most of the ballerinas were pushing themselves to exhaustion. Ginny had followed Hermione's lead and was balancing her repetitions and school work to be as fit as possible for the casting. Too much work could be as bad as too little.

Four days before the casting, they were in the library working on a Chemistry problem. Well, Hermione was trying to work while Ginny was showing her several dresses for the Christmas party, making her regret once more to have agreed to go in the first time.

"Look at this one!" Ginny pushed the catalog towards Hermione.

The older girl barely looked up and sighed.

"Hmm, nice…" Now, how did ammonia end in this equation?

"Hermione, you didn't even look at it!"

"Hmm What?!..."

"The dress, Hermione…."

"Ginny, I'm trying to work, here!"

"And I'm trying to find you a dress. The party is in a month!"

"That leave me thirty days to find a dress, but we must hand this in a week. So it's a question of priorities."

Ginny sighed.

"Hermione, you must sort out your priorities here…"

The brown haired ballerina raised her eyebrow.

Before Ginny could say something, someone cleared his throat behind her.

Hermione turned her head and smiled.

"Hi, Viktor! No repetitions?"

"Hi, no, we have a break for a few hours, Fleur and I needed it."

"That's nice, so what brings you here?"

"I was returning a book, you know the one you advised me to read…" Viktor said, showing said book.

"Oh, yes! Did you like it?" Hermione's eyes were shining, books were one of her passion.

"Well,…" Viktor and Hermione started what could be descrined as a thorough analysis of the book and would have carried on for a long time if Ginny hadn't coughed loudly, showing Hermione a new dress.

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head, no, She wouldn't wear this dress.

Viktor looked at her.

"I heard you were going to the Christmas party with Harry… You must be happy, he is a good partner…"

Hermione shrugged.

"Yes, his girlfriend couldn't come, so since someone," she shot a withering look at Ginny who wasn't fazed at all and turned back to her catalog, "decided I had to come, and since Draco proposed it to Harry, I have to go."

The Bulgarian dancer chuckled, relaxing.

"I see… I was wondering why Harry wasn't attending with Emily…"

"She has finals the day after, so she couldn't come…," explained Hermione.

Ginny looked up at her and pat her arm.

"It won't be that bad, chill, and now we have to find you a dress."

Hermione rolled her eyes, much to the amusement of the two others.

"Are you going to the party, Viktor?" asked Ginny.

"I think I will," he answered, his eyes on Hermione as said girl tried to resolve her ammonia problem.

"Really, who are you going with?"

"I don't know… Fleur is going single, I think I will go with her."

Looking at her watch, Hermione started to put her things in her bag.

"We should go Ginny, it's nearly time for Math!"

They packed their books quickly.

"I'll walk you two to your classroom," said Viktor, "Here Hermione, let me take your bag, it seems to weigh tons…"

Hermione was struggling with her bag. 

"If she didn't insist on packing the bloody library in it, it would be lighter," commented Ginny.

"There's nothing wrong with a bit of light reading," retorted Hermione, handing her bag to Viktor who shouldered it easily.

"Light- reading! You call it light!"

Not bothering to answer this, Hermione made her way towards the exit of the library, Viktor behind her.

Rolling her eyes dramatically, Ginny hurried behind them, catching up quickly with the older girl.

They arrived at the classroom, chatting amiably.

"Well thank you Viktor, that was very nice of you."

"You're welcome, and if you ever need help, Hermione, don't hesitate to ask!" He smiled openly at her. " You too Ginny," he added after awhile.

"OK! Thanks!"

Waving  good bye, they both entered the classroom and walked to Harry and Draco. The two of them had gone to the field, not wanting to go to the library or stand between Ginny and her plans for Hermione.

The lesson started and the four of them listened as the teacher started to explain the wonders of logarithms. 

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 Finally, the casting's day had arrived. Hermione woke up at five as usual and followed her usual routine. She met Harry for the morning jogging.

They run in silence before walking slowly back to the castle.

"So, ready?"

Hermione nodded, taking her bottle of water out of her bag and drinking a bit.

"As ready as I'll ever be, and you?"

"I'm OK."

"Good, when do we have to pass for the duet?"

Harry looked at her, an amused glint in his eyes.

"Don't be nervous, we're convoked at 4 pm for the duet, I'm dancing with Fleur at 10am and you're doing your part with Viktor at 10.30 am. You'll do great, don't worry." 

"I'm not nervous," said Hermione, though her stomach seemed twisted.

"Nooo, now, come on, Breakfast is calling!"

They went back to their room, took a shower, dressed up and met back in the Hall where Ron, Ginny, Padma and Draco were already eating.

They sat quietly and ate in silence, each of them lost in their own thought.Padma was one of the first to dance with Viktor, Ginny was dancing at 9.45 am, Ron at 11am and Draco at 11.40. The duets were judged in the afternoon from 2 pm to 4 pm. Harry and Hermione were the last one to go. Ginny and Draco were judged at 3pm and Padma and Ron were among the first ones to go.

They stayed in the hall, like most of the other members of the graduating class. 

Ginny took out some nail polish and satrted to work on her nails, as Padma left for the first examination. Ron took a small chess game and turned to Draco with an hopeful look. The blond nodded and soon both of them were playing, deeply concentrated on their game. Harry took a CD player, a pen and some papers and started to write a letter. Hermione took out a book: The pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet.

Time passed, soon Padma was back, answering with a shrug when asked about her performance. It was then Ginny's turn, then Harry. Ten minutes after he left, Hermione followed, wanting to get ready and warm up before having to go. 

A room had been opened for the students wishing to stretch or work before having to go.

She changed quickly, lacing her shoes with extra care. She warmed up, not forgetting a part of her body as she stretched. Finally as Justin, who had been the one to go before her, left she stopped and walked around the room, taking deep breaths, calming herself, soothing her nerves.

Minutes later, Justin exited the room.

"Your turn, Hermione," he said, before starting to stretch.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione stilled herself, 'I can do it!' and entered the room where the professors were waiting.

It was the audition room, with a stage and small stands.

Viktor and Fleur were standing on the stage. They smiled at her as she entered.

"Hermione Granger, come in, come in…." said Albus Dumbledore.

All the Dance teachers were sitting in the stands, with several papers in front of them. She put her bag near the wall and walked up to the stage, climbing on it, tensing as she felt all the eyes of the teachers on her.

"You'll do great Hermione, don't worry," said Viktor, squeezing her shoulder,as they readied themselves.

The first notes of the duet of Kalya and Istyan sprang in the air, they started to move.

At first she was tensed but as the seconds passed she started to gain more and more confidence, relaxing and letting herself forget, in the last part of the duet, that she was on the stage before all of her teachers, there was only the music and the dance. The music ended as Viktor held her while she leaned backward, their eyes locked. They stayed in position for five seconds before standing up. The teachers were whispering while writing on their paper. 

Viktor smiled at her.

"You did great, especially in the last part, I enjoyed dancing with you."

"It was a pleasure, Viktor, I enjoyed it too."

The Headmaster looked at her, his eyes twinkling.

"Thank you, Miss Granger, would you tell Mr. Diggory to come in?"

Nodding, Hermione took her bag and left, happy with her performance. She had hesitated in the beginning at a landing and during a pirouette, but besides that she thought she had done fine. 

Stopping in the warm up room, she spotted Cedric.

"Cedric, your turn."

The young man nodded. Hermione did a few stretching exercices before going back to the Hall.

She crossed Ron on her way there and gave him an encouraging smile.

Once in the Hall she went back to her friends and once Draco left, they started to talk, exchanging their opinion on their performance. Lunch was served from 12 to 2 pm. They started to eat once Draco was back talking quietly. As soon as they were done, they left the Hall to get ready.

Hermione had asked Ginny to do her hair, braiding it from her temples to the back of her neck to form a bun. A white ribbon was intertwined in each braids and a scrunchy ornate with white flowers was helping held the bun in place. Ginny had her hair done in a bun made of twisted strands of hair, a crown of leaves pinned to her head. Padma's hair was pulled in a simple bun, with small ribbons intertwined in it.

They got dressed and after helping each other with their hair and make up, walked to the two rooms which were opened to the dancers.

Ron, Draco and Harry were at the barre, doing some exercices. Padma had a light blue ballet skirt, which darkened to a royal blue at the hem. Ron was dressed in a light blue shirt and grey tights. They had chosen the idea of a duet between the wind and the sea. Draco and Ginny had chosen the theme of a tango between lovers. The green and white tutu of Ginny reminded Hermione of the Spannish dress in its form. Draco had black thights, a green shirt and a black bolero-jacket. Harry was dressed as would a puppet master, while hermione wore a white ballet skirt, making her look like a doll, an impression accentuated by the make up.

They warmed-up together, chatting quietly. Then each of them started to work. As they were the last to go, Hermione and Harry were going easy, wanting to keep their energy for later.

As the first pair, Lavender and Terry Boots, left. Professor Lupin stopped by the door.

"Once you'll be done with your duet, you'll be allowed to stay in the room, on one condition, absolute silence. If we catch one word from one of you, you'll be asked to leave the room."

Whispers flew around the room and Hermione felt sick at the idea of having to go before all of them. To dance before all the teachers was difficult enough for her, but to do it before all the others… her stomach started to do loops.

As the time passed and more and more pairs left, she got more and more nervous.

Harry noticed it and as the pair before them left and they were the only one left he turned to her, taking her hands in his and forcing her to look at him.

During the past few months, he and Hermione had come to be good friends, due to the duet's preparation. The young woman was still quite shy and prefered to go to her rooms to work, read or train while the others were participating to the social life of the school. But despite that, he had come to view her as a good friend and appreciate her for her qualities. He knew sometimes he was a bit forwards, but he had always been like this with his friends, always trusting his gut instinct about people, who to trust or not to trust. Sure it made him vulnerable to backstabbing, but he'd rather take the risk than live on his guard all the time.

"Hermione, relax, everything will go alright."

"But…"

"Hermione," he paused, "Do you trust me?"

She stayed silent before inhaling a deep breath and looking up at him.

"Yes, Yes, I do."

"Then, trust me on this, you're a great dancer. You know your part perfectly and we're going to ace this thing."

"But… They…"

"No." Harry cut her before she could say more. He remembered saying that once to his mother as he was about to go on stage for one of his first show and her words had been printed in his memory: "Not they. They don't matter, forget them. Once we enter this room, there are only three things that matter: us, the music and the dance. So forget them, just be yourself and trust the music."

Hermione looked down reflecting on Harry's words. "Trust the music…" she whispered.

She looked up, a proud glint in her eyes and smiled at the ebony-haired dancer.

"Ready?" He asked, squeezing her hands friendly.

"Ready!" she said, determinate.

They slowly headed for the audition room. As they stopped before the door, Hermione felt her courage falter a bit, but then she recalled Harry's words: 'Trust the music'. She had always trusted it. 

They heard a 'Come in'. Harry opened the door and smiled at her.

"Let's rock them!"

Hermione chuckled as they stepped in the room.

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Hermione felt the eyes on her as they walked up to the stage. They had handed the CD with their music during lunch. They climbed on stage and placed themselves: Hermione sitting in the middle, Harry on the side, standing and waiting for the music. As the music started, she started her breathing pattern, synchronizing it with the beat. And as Harry stood behind her, giving her her cue to begin, she lost herself to the music, only coming back to herself as she slided to the ground while the last note of the piano echoed in the room.

Applause broke as they stood up and climbed off the stage, walking back to their friends. Harry leaned on her and whispered: "You did great." 

Ginny smiled widely when they sat next to them. Hermione looked up at the Professors and saw Pr. Flitwick beaming at her.

Headmaster Dumbledore rose on his feet.

"We thank you all for your work and dedication. We are going to deliberate, your academical lessons are suspended for the day, the results will be posted tomorrow at ten. Thank you again."

The thirty dancers exited slowly, chatting among themselves. 

Ginny, Padma and Hermione went to Ginny's room as they undressed and washed their faces and undid their hair. They had said to the boys they would meet them in the Hall once they would be done.

It took them a bit more than half an hour to get ready.

Finally they headed to the Hall, where they found most of the dancers of the graduate group, talking animatedly.

The three girls spotted their friends at their usual place at the table and walked to them, smiling.

Upon an unspoken agreement, they didn't mention the audition and instead made small talk.

Meanwhile the teachers were debating on the attribution of the roles…

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All the teachers were gathered in the staff room, papers spread in front of them.

Albus Dumbledore, called for silence.

"Good, now we have to give the role. Keep in mind that those chosen will have to be able to keep up in their academic studies as well. Well, let's start…"

There were nods of agreement in the room.

McGonagall cleared her throat. 

"Well, I think that Potter should be Istyan, he has more than the technical knowledge needed for this role."

Flitwick nodded, agreeing with his colleague. The other teachers supported this decision quickly. 

The headmaster turned to the academic teachers.

"Will it be a problem for him?"

"As much as I loath to admit it… Potter proved not to be a complete idiot…" snarled Snape.

Sprout, Vector nodded their agreement. Binns was trying to remember who this student was.

"Then I think Cho Chang and Ginny Weasley deserve a lead," resumed McGonagall

"While I agree with this, I want Granger in one of the leads this year," piped in the expression teacher.

Sirius turned to the small man.

"Granger?"

"Filius, while Granger has apparently one of the best technique in Hogwarts, I don't know if she's really up for a lead role…." Said McGonagall.

"Minerva, I want to see this girl in a lead. I don't know how we didn't see it before, but she has a lot of potential and the Potter boy has a good influence on her. Their duet was amazing."

"It was unexpected of her," agreed Sinistra. "And she was lovely, but a lead…."

"Why not?" countered Remus. He had taken a liking to the shy ballerina, and if Harry was really contemplating asking her to join, well this might give her some experience… "She has the technique and I'm sure she could learn to express herself, she has improved quite a lot during the past months…"

"Maybe, but GinnyWeasley has always performed greatly in the leads during the past year's shows… Miss Patil and Brown are promising ballerinas too" said Sinistra.

A snort from Snape cut her.

"Those two won't pass their academical finals if their heads get any bigger. I strongly opposed them getting main leads, and if I find one more horoscope or star chart on their papers again, they will be simply failed."

Dumbledore turned to the other teacher.

"I have to agree with Severus on this," admitted Vector.

They started to debate under the twinkling eyes of the Headmaster who was quietly keeping the score. The talk started to heat up before they came to an agreement, hours later.

Looking at his paper, where the different names for the leads were written.

"Do we agree on this?"

Nods answered him.

"Well, then I think dinner is in order, the results will be posted tomorrow." 

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Dinner had been a bit tensed, particularly for the graduates and Hermione was about to kill Ginny. Apparently the younger girl was dealing with her stress by planning Hermione's outfit for the party.

Ignoring her wasn't working and the others weren't helping. Ron was oblivious, Draco was amused by it and Harry was talking to Padma about god knows what!

"Ginny. Please. I already have a dress ready. If you want you can come see it. Make up doesn't matter for now, there's still a month left."

Ginny's attention perked up at this and seconds later, she was dragging her friend out of the Hall, under the smirking eyes of her boyfriend.

Hermione sighed and steeled herself for the inquisition she knew she'll have to face…

She was able to go to sleep later as Ginny had deemed the dress fit for party and had exhausted the list of accessories, make-up or hair styles which would go with it.

It was with relief that Hermione got ready for the night and slipped in her bed. 

Morning came and the young ballerina fell in her usual routine, meeting Harry for their jog.

The green-eyed young man smiled as she arrived and they started to ran at a leisure pace.

"So, a bit excited for the results?"

Hermione shrugged.

"A little, but as long as I'll be part of the ballet, I'm happy."

"Don't you wish to be in the leads?" Harry was a bit surprised…

"Well, I'll be happy if I am and I'd like it a lot. But as long as I can dance, I don't mind the role I have."

Harry only smiled, he knew the feeling; for both of them, dance was a drug. Emily had never understood it completely and at the beginning of their relationship would complain about the time he spent in his parents' studio, practicing, rehearsing… 

No more was said as they ran in a comfortable silence, enjoying the cold, but sunny morning.

They finally made their way back to the castle and readied themselves for the day. As Hermione headed to the Hall for breakfast she felt a tweak of anxiety shot through her. But well, she'd have to wait!

Every graduating dancer was here and the room was buzzing with excitement and anticipation.

Finally, the Headmaster entered, holding a sheet of paper. Hermione could see he was enjoying this moment immensely and repressed a chuckle. With dramatics, Albus Dumbledore went to the news' panel and pined the list before heading to the staff table.

Seconds later everyone was rushing to the panel. Soon, groans and squeals of joy were heard.

Hermione was still seated, as well as Harry and Draco. Padma, Ginny and Ron had run to the panel as soon as Dumbledore had been out of the way. Calmly, they looked at each other and stood up making their way through the dissipating crowd. But before they could reach it, Draco was caught by a beaming Ginny and found himself lip-locked in a deep kiss. Catcalls and whistles erupted in the room while Ron made gagging motions.

Shaking her head, Hermione approached the panel and looked at the roles' distribution:

PHOENIXIA

DISTRIBUTION:

Kalia: Ginny Weasley

Istyan: Harry Potter

Thoran: Draco Malfoy

Elysa: Hermione Granger

Dena: Cho Chang

Kar: Cedric Diggory

Zogar: Oliver Wood

Soren: Terry Boots

The Witch: Lavender Brown

The Dryad: Parvati Patil

Sonya (Kalia's mother): Mandy Brokelhurst

Matheo (Kalia's father): Justin Finch-Fletchey

Janice (Istyan's mother): Hannah Abbots

Phares (Istyan's father): Blaise Zabini

The Mage: Ron Weasley

The Enchantress: Padma Patil

Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. She had done it! Hermione suddenly found herself in a strong hug.

"Hermione! That's great! You did it!"

Chuckling, Hermione disentangled herself from Ginny's grip. Apparently the red-head had left Draco who was looking a bit dazed.

"Miss Weasley? Miss Granger?"

Both girl whirled on their heels and faced the small Expression teacher.

"I'd like to have a word with you, once you'll be done. I'll wait in the Headmaster's office."

Puzzled, the two girls looked at Pr. Flitwick, a bit worried.

He smiled reassuringly.

"You're not in trouble, but I have a favour to ask you two."

A bit bewildered, the girls agreed and the professor left them. Immediately their friends rushed to their sides, congratulating each other.

The Headmaster rose to his feet and called for the silence.

"If you please, you'll start working on the ballet today. Please note that Pr. Flitwick's lesson will now be held after Professors Black, Lupin and Sinistra's lesson. Please also note that the Christmas Gala will be held as usual on December the 20th. Those interested in performing have to see Mrs. McGonagall. I'd like to ask several member of the graduating class to perform the duet they created for the audition: Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy, Miss Chang and Mr. Diggory, Miss Granger and Mr. Potter, and Miss Brown and Mr. Boots. Thank you very much for listening."

Hermione's mind was numb. Her! Performing at the Christmas Gala? What drugs was Dumbledore on?! She suppressed those thoughts immediately. It was not polite to think that of the esteemed man.

How could she do this! Perform before the parents? It was insane! Dancing before the others had been hard enough!

She looked at Harry. He was smiling at her, apparently proud about this… in a way she was, but she was also scared, what if she screwed it? If she made a fool of herself and Harry? But then she was dancing with Harry Potter, nothing could go wrong.

She stilled her resolve, she couldn't say no to him, and sighed… Sometimes she regretted having meet the dark-haired dance prodigy. Since he had been there he had turned her nice world upside down, pushing her in the limelight.

Taking her bag she shouldered it and headed for the headmaster's office. She heard Ginny catching up with her. The younger girl was literally bouncing with excitement, making her smile. They reached the office quickly and knocked on the door.

A soft 'come in' was heard as they opened the door.

Stepping in, Hermione took in her surroundings. The headmaster's office, decorate in rich and comfortable colors, with paintings and posters of former students who had been quite famous. She spotted one showing Harry's parents and smile at the nice picture they made.

She spotted the Headmaster and Pr. Flitwick. How they had arrived there so quickly she didn't know but Hogwarts was an old castle and held quite numerous secrets.

"Miss Granger, Miss Weasley…. Sit down."

They obeyed, looking at the old man.

"First of all, congratulations for your success. But Pr. Flitwick has a favour to ask the both of you."

The small man nodded.

"Yes, see, we, your professors had a hard deciding between you two for Kalia's role. In the end, we chose Miss Weasley as she had already performed as lead before. But I would like to see Miss Granger performing Kalia's role too. So I'd like to ask both of you to learn both roles: Kalia and Elysa's role."

Both girls looked at each other and shrugged.

"Miss Weasley will be the one performing Kalia's role for the Gala, but I'd appreciate to see Miss Granger performed it too," added the headmaster.

Shrugging again, Hermione nodded, as Ginny spoke.

"Well, Headmaster, as far as I'm concerned I don't see any problem with this."

"Neither do I," said Hermione.

"Very well, Professors Sprout, Vector, Snape and Binns thought you'd be able to deal with this added work."

Both girls nodded.

"In that case I won't keep you any longer here. Pr. Hooch was told that you'd be late, so don't worry, Have a good day."

Muttering good bye, they left the office and headed towards the fitness room.

Getting ready in the changing room they hurried inside, joining the class as they began the first rounds of moves.

Now the work was going to begin…

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Well, I hope you liked it. Thanks again to all the reviewer!

Babyblue4: Well, chapter 4 was originally a vocabulary appendix of the ballet term to clear any confusion about some French terms. But since it's going against Ffnet policies, it was taken down and I'll put it at the end of the first chapter.

HG wannabe: hmmm…. Sorry? My deepest apologies to every English speaking person for my massacre of the English language. I got a beta recently sao the first chapters aren't betaed, but I'll go over them and tried to find the mistakes…. Sorry again. But don't worry, I don't take that too bad, I know how it is to be frustrated about something and take it on someone or something else.

Crazy Mishka: You'll see, I have it planned, and hope it'll be believable…. Hope you'll like this chapter.

Colombia: D'abord, félicitations pour ton français. C'est pas souvent que je rencontre des personne pouvant le parler correctement, quand ce n'est pas leur langue maternelle, vu que c'est une langue plutôt difficile.

Ne t'inquiète pas pour les fautes, si jamais tu as besoin d'aide un jour n'hésite pas à m'écrire.

Kat : I totally agrre with you, though I never learned ballet myself, but learned contemporary dance. But I've always admire the ballerina and balet dancers… It's so…!! But extremely difficult too, I shudder to think of the hours of rehearsing fpr them to reach this level… But well! I jhope I'm not massacring the ballet terms or rules, don't hesitate to tell me if I do so.

krtshadow : Well, I'm glad you're enjoying this story. This one is my relaxing one, not as plot deep as Dragonmasters which is my fav to write but far much complicated…. So I have fun with this one. Hope you'll enjoy it too.

Salted Peanuts: I'll take your comment into account, as you're quite right, thanks for saying it.

Nekosutski: You're completely entitled to your opinions, and I respect that. But I'd just like to point to you that it is an AU story and that the summary makes it clear that this story deals with dance. It's a bit of a strange idea, I'll give you that, but I needed a break from the magical world of my other fics and this was an idea which was bugging me for a while.

Lady valura: Good luck with it, I bow before your courage for choosing to do so since it's a difficult carrier path.

Estrella de la Tarde: In boxers?.... I'm not going to ask… -)

Crackhead: lemon tea

. : *shrugs* don't read then.

Purple bunny: Gymnastic… I always admire people who can do gmnatics since I'm completely and utterly hopeless at it… applause to you.

Rodebudlife: well, I ask people if they wanted magic in this story since I had an idea to incorporate it to the story, but the majority voted for a non magical universe. As for the boy-who-lived part, this is an AU, so I'm allowed to change a few things. But I do apologize for misspelling Hogwarts. 

Thanks again to all the people who reviewed!  

Naia 


	5. Christmas Gala and Party

Disclaimer : I don't own anything you'll recognize!

A/N: Here we are, new chapter… sorry about the wait (I know I say this every time, but well, I do apologize)

I hope you'll enjoy this.

Thanks to every reviewers for his/her comments, it always helps!

Thanks to Knarm for the great job he's doing, correcting this story…

Naia

**Chapter Five**

"Yes, that's it ! Keep up like this ! Bring the leg higher", now slow down the turn… yes… yes…Excellent!"

Hermione kept her eyes on her friend as she finished her movements. Once the music ended, the red-haired girl slumped on the floor, panting slighly.

"You're going to kill me, Hermione."

Hermione just smiled.

"That's when you see the use of a morning jog."

Ginny grimaced.

"No thank you, I'll leave you those pleasures… What did you think of it?"

"That was good. Just be careful with the pirouettes… You keep on lowering your leg and arching your back too much…"

Ginny nodded.

"What about doing the parts with the boys?" she said, motioning to the two dancers quietly rehearsing a movement at a slow pace.

Since both girls were learning each other roles, Harry and Draco were doing the same. As the four were all in the Advanced class, it was easier for them to find time to work together. They would always find at least two hours in the day to work on the ballet and also on some ballroom dances. After teaching Ginny and Draco the basis of rock'n roll, they had moved to salsa, and rumba,…

"Why not?" answered Hermione, shrugging.

Smiling Ginny turned towards her boyfriend and Harry who were going over a series of tricky steps, slowly, learning the correct placement of their body and the way to put their feet and arms, repeating over and aver again, before doing it a bit faster, and faster and finally doing it at the real speed.

During the whole thing, the two girls had been watching, smiling and admiring the two dancers. They were both sweating, despite the cold weather, but the heating added to their work out had long ago been sufficient to warm them up.

As the boy finished, they clapped, whistling whole heartedly. Returning their smiles, Harry and Draco bowed with flourish, the latter one exagerating the whole thing, taking poses….

Finally, Ginny stood up.  
"Stop it, you Lockhart!"

This put a stop to Draco's antics. The blond boy was wearing an outraged and horrified look as he starred at his girlfriend, to Hermione's amusement and Harry's confusion.

"Is he talking about Gilderoy Lockhart?" he whispered, leaning on her.

She smirked a bit.

"Yes, he was a teacher here for a year, during my second year. He was hired by the headmaster as a choregrapher and director for the Gala… That was the first year that Hogwarts' gala was postponed since the whole thing was a disaster…"

Harry smirked.

"I heard about him, he even tried to enter my parent's company, saying his presence would do a lot of good to their image."

Hermione shook her head thinking of the arrogance of the man, omitting to tell Harry that she, like three quarter of the girls had Hogwarts had been besotted for months with the man.

Meanwhile, Ginny had kissed Draco's hurt pride away. Seeing the two of them were not about to part anytime soon, Harry cleared his throat loudly.

"Well, ready to do it once?"

The two lovebirds separated slowly, Draco wearing a slightly dazed expression. The blond faced Harry and nodded, absent-mindedly.

Grinning, Ginny took his hand and they got into position.

The music started and they begun the dance. They were working on the part when Kalia and Istyan met.

Harry and Hermione watched them carefully, trying to spot the mistakes, the weak points. Finally the two dancers exited the scene as was asked of them. Hermione switched the CD off before looking at her friends who were breathing a bit heavily.

"So," started Draco, "What's the jury's verdict?"

Hermione and Harry looked at each other, smiling.

"Well," said the ballerina, "technically speaking, Ginny you have to be more careful with your left leg during your pirouettes. You tend to wobble a bit during your turns since you lean too much on it. Be careful too with your fingers. It's a small detail, but it makes the movement much more clean… And don't rush yourself during the jumps…"

At the same time, Harry was telling Draco of what he had spotted.

Then, Harry took Draco's place and went over it again, after, that, it was Harry and Hermione and to finish, Hermione and Draco.

By the end of their work, they were feeling quite tired, but still decided to try some of the ballroom dances they had been practicing.

This time, it was Draco's turn to choose the music. They had gone over most of the common dances, and were now honing their skills, sometimes joined by Ron and Padma.

The music started and a strong beat filled the room, bringing a smile on Hermione's face. Let's rock!

She let herself be led by Harry's hand, hers firmly ensnared in his grip, dancing across the room, spinning, jumping…

The music came to an abrupt stop and Harry drew her to him, their bodies touching, their chest heaving as they caught their breath, their faces close.

It was in moments like this that Hermione was really envying Emily for being Harry's girlfriend. There was no denying the charisma of the young dancer. Years of practice had given him a toned body, something she knew firsthand, being his partner, she had been able to see and feel it for herself. He didn't have Draco's classical and aristocrastic beauty, but a more earthy one, with features less refined, sharper. His character added to the picture; he was well liked among the school, by his peers and teachers, except for a few: the younger ones looked up to him, a bit awed by his reputation; the older ones came to him for advice, opinions…

Noticing the track her thoughts were taking, a small blush crept to her cheeks, fortunately going unoticed since her face was already a bit red from the dance and their previous work out.

As if sensing her unease, Harry released her, stretching and relaxing his muscles.

"Honestly, Draco," he said, grinning, "you couldn't have chosen something less tiring?"

Draco raised his eyebrows as if saying 'Who? Me?'

Shaking his head, Harry went back to his stretching, followed by the three others. They talked a bit, while doing it, the topic most of the time being the upcoming Christmas Gala in one week, followed by the party, three days later.

Saying that Hermione was stressed was an understatement. The young ballerina was nearly shaking at the very idea of performing before an audience like this one. Sure she had performed during every Gala before, but she hadn't been in the spotlight, most of the time being in the corps de ballet, the main group of dancers. But this time it would be different. She would perform her duet with Harry, they had been keeping on practicing, using the time left before the performance to perfect it. After hearing about that, her mother had even asked her to send her costume back so she could improve it. She knew that both her parents would be there, and rumours even said that the Potters and some members of their company would be there too, rumours she knew were for once truthful, Harry having confirmed it to her one morning.

They finished to cool down, taking some towels out of their bags, before headings for their rooms to take a well needed shower. Being the first one done, Hermione checked her watch. Still twenty minutes before dinner, time enough to get a head start on her homework.

She was among the last to arrive to the Hall, having been facing a rather arduous math problem.

"Where were you?" asked Ginny, frowning a bit.

"Homework."

Rolling her eyes, the red-head went back to her talk with Padma and Mandy, Draco's hand on her thigh. The blond was engaged in a heated argument with Ron, shaking his fork in the air, to emphasize his point. Harry was listening to them with obvious amusement, while eating.

"What were you working on?"

Hermione turned her head sharply to face the Bulgarian dancer. Viktor was seated next to her, something she hadn't noticed. With a smile, she answered his question.

"Math"

He returned her smile.

"Tough luck, sciences have always been my weak point, or I would have offered to help you."

"Thanks, but wouldn't it be favoritism?" she replied.

He made a sheepish face.

"Well, in that case, it's no use offering to give some private tutorial?"

Hermione shook her head.

"It would not be fair for the others, but thanks for offering, that's nice," she said. "Will you come to the Gala?"

"Yes," answered Viftor, "the Headmaster reserved two seats for Fleaur and me. I'm eager to see it, Hogwarts' Galas are reputed. In particular, the End of Year one."

Hermione nodded, taking a bite from her plate.

"You're dancing with Harry, aren't you?" he asked, resuming his meal too.

"Yes, they selected us to present our duets, as well as a few other groups."

"I can't wait to see you on stage, I really enjoyed dancing with you…"

Hermione blushed at the compliment.

"Thanks, but you must have danced with ballerinas far more experienced than me…"

Viktor shrugged this remark away and they ate in silence for a few minutes.

"Would you agree to have dinner with me? I mean, once the Gala is over, after the party?" He asked, out of the blue.

He looked at the young woman who was staring at him as if he had grown a second head, her eyes slightly widened in shock.

"Hermione?" he said, growing a bit nervous.

She blinked a few times, as she processed what he had asked her.

"Is that a joke?"

The Bulgarian frowned a bit.

"I'm serious, Hermione. So, will you?"

The young woman didn't know what to say.

She was flattered by his offer, but on the other hand, she wasn't sure about starting a relationship with him… she wasn't in love with him and people who dated were people in love, weren't they? Or maybe she was too romantic and naïve…. But perhaps he didn't a relationship in mind, but only friendship. That had to be it!

In that case, it was ok for her to go. They were friends, weren't they?

She nodded with a small shy smile. Viktor's face broke in a large grin.

"Thank you!"

They resumed their meal, but the air was a bit akward between. Viktor didn't know how to act towards her and Hermione was thoroughly confused.

Their behavior didn't go unoticed and Hermione could feel several gazes on her, making her quite uncomfortable.

A sharp pain in her leg wrenched a yelp from her and she looked up, meeting Ginny's innocent face. People were eyeing her strangely, making her cheeks burn.

"Hermione? Are you coming? You promised me to help me with this Math problem…"

Ron glanced at his sister.

"What? You told me you were finding it easy for once?"

Sending him a withering glare, Ginny turned to Hermione.

"So, you're coming?"

There was no mistaking the 'you better be' implied in her sentence.

Sighing, Hermione took a last bit bite from her apple and after telling everyone good bye and placing her plate on the tray, followed her younger friend out.

Ginny led her quickly to a deserted room. Once inside and the door locked she turned to her friend and fired her questions away.

"What was that about? Are you going out with him? Why did you say yes? Do you fancy him?" She took a deep breath. Floored by this barrage of questions, Hermione took a few seconds to answer.

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know and I don't know."

Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"That's really informative…."

Hermione frowned.

"Don't get me wrong, Hermione, but from what I heard, you accepted Viktor Krum's offer to dinner."

"I did."

"And you don't know if you fancy him? Why did you say yes then? I didn't think you would lead on a boy if you didn't want to go through with it!"

Hermione was annoyed at this.

"I thought you knew me better than that Ginevra!"

"Then why did you say yes?!"

"Viktor is a good friend and good company. He probably meant nothing more than an friendly outing with this offer."

"You're unbelievable! Boys usually don't ask girls on dinner if they aren't attracted by said girls!"

"Ginny…."

"Don't Ginny me!"

"You're imagining things!"

Ginny shook her head.

"And they say boys are oblivious…"

"I'm not, I'm realistic."

"You're in denial."

"No, Viktor is a good friend."

"Perhaps, but that's clear that he sees you more as a potential girlfriend than as a simple friend. He asked you out, that's proof enough!"

Hermioned rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going to convince you otherwise…"

"No"

"Well, then if you don't mind, I'm going to go to bed, I'm tired."

Before the younger ballerina could protest, Hermione was out of the room and hurrying to her room. That night she had trouble finding sleep, Ginny's words kept echoing in her head.

-------------------------

The week passed in a blur, rehearsals draining the energy of all the students. The younger years would present a few dances, years above more arduous pieces of the classical repertoire. The graduating years usually performed duets, extracts from well known ballets like the Swan Lake… and original dances they had created with their professors.

Hermione had been completely caught up in her studies and rehearsal. In addition of the duet, Ginny had been adamant she also performed with her, Draco, Terry, Jean, Sabrina, Mandy, Blaise, Seamus and Justin. As she had had the backing of Professor Flitwick, Hermione had had to agree. It was not that she didn't want to dance with them, but she was loathing the attention she was being shown nowadays.

McGonagall had made her the object of most of her praise and had her demonstrate everytimes they learnt a new move, Flitwick seemed to enjoy making her stay after class to work a bit with her, Black had been concentrating more on her, why, she had no idea.

Her next meeting with Viktor had been awkawards at first, but the older dancer had done everything to put her at ease and things were going smoothly there. He often came to see her when she was studying in the library or relaxing in the common rooms. They would discuss books they had read, debate, do some small talk, chat about dancing moves, or just enjoying each others company in silence. Most of the times, Viktor came when she was alone, but from times to times, one of her friends was present when he met with her.

Ginny was adamant about this. For her, Viktor Krum was pinning after her, an idea which sounded ludicrous to Hermione. As if?! But after getting lectured a few times she kept her opinions to herself.

Finally the day of the Gala arrived. All the tickets had been sold easily. The school was reputed and the Hogwarts' Galas always attracting a large audience and numerous scouts.

The day was a whirl of rehearsal for the last minutes, last advice, check up…. Dinner was served earlier to allow everyone to get ready. Hermione's stomach was so twisted that the mere sight of food made her feeling queasy.

Nonetheless she forced herself to eat, knowing she would need it. Usually she had no problem eating before performing, but usually she wasn't dancing in the spotlight!

As if sensing her nervousness, Harry smiled at her, looking up from his book, his face composed. Sure he had to be used to this, having performed in his parents' shows.

He leaned on her.

"Don't worry, you'll be amazing, I know it!"

Hermione snorted.

"Says you!"

Harry chuckled.

"Exactly, but relax okay. It will be easier if you're not completely tense."

Sighing, Hermione pushed her food around her plate.

"I'm just so nervous about this…"

Harry looked a bit surprised.

"Why? you must have performed before, haven't you?"

Hermione looked up at him.

"Of course, but usually I'm not dancing in duets… I'm usually part of the corps de ballet, the groups of dancers in the background!"

Squeezing her shoulder, the dark-haired young man just smiled.

"You'll be fine, don't worry, it will be just you, me and the music. Once we'll be on stage, nothing else will matter."

"But… what about?...."

Harry cut her.

"You," he pointed to her, "Me," he turned his finger towards him, "and the music." He lightly tapped his ear.

Hermione just nodded and went back to eating.

It was considerably more easy to swallow now….

Two hours before the start of the Gala, Ginny, Padma, Mandy, Jean, Sabrina and her went backstage to get ready. They had brought everything they needed earlier in the day: their costumes were hanging on the racks, as well as their outfits for warm up. Each of them had a small table with a big mirror fixed to the wall, circled with light-bulbs. A few drawers contained their make-up, brushes, hair pins, accessories… everything they needed to get themselves ready for the show.

The first years would be the first to go upstage, then the fourth year. The second year would be next followed by the seventh who would close the first part, performing the group dances. After an interval of half an hour to allow the seventh years to get ready for their next performance. The fifth years would start the second part, then the third and sixth years. Once again the seventh years would present their duets and then all the years for the finale.

First they put their tights on, a cross-over top and their points. After a half-an hour warm up and stretching in an adjacent room, they drank a bit of water and started to get dressed.

Ginny, Mandy, Jean, Sabrina and Hermione along with the boys were presenting a choregraphy about the awaking of statues.

They were all wearing light grey flowing ballet skirts along with a long-sleeved body suit of the same color. Their hair was done in a tight bun, held in place by a pearly scrunchy.

They had chosen their make-up together: white powder to make their skin as pale as possible, black eyeliner with a bluish grey eye shadow. A really pale blue lipstick was used on their lips making them seem frozen.

As they put the finishing touch to their make up, they heard the small ringing announcing to every dancer that the show would start in two minutes.

Fixing their hair one last time, they then hurried to the warm-up room which was filled to the brim with anxious students. They quickly spotted the boys: Draco, Blaise, Seamus, Justin and Terry were already there, stretching at the barre. Dressed in grey like the girls, they had also covered their skin with the same white powder.

Time passed slowly. The first years came back, chatting loudly, talking about how their performance went… The fourth years followed, as excited as the firsties… Minute by minute, the time for Hermione to step on stage drew closer. Finally, it was their turn. She watched as the group of seventh years performing before them left the stage among the cheering of the crowds. Looking at the departing dancers, she spotted Ron's red hair.

That explained the cheers. Ron was dancing with Harry, Cedric and Oliver. Hermione had seen them at the rehearsal and agreed with the audience's reaction.

The stage went black, as the boys left it, while they stepped on, taking their positions. As the music started, the stage was illuminated with a pale blue light, adding to their statuesque figure.

The sounds of a harp filled the room as they started moving; their moves slow as if they had just woken up from a years-long sleep. Piano, strings and a light set of drums joined the harp as the beat intensified. In a smooth transition, the strings, harp and piano were replaced by a more modern set of instrument as the beat took off. In a succession of chained turns, the girls left the stage.

Panting, Hermione hurriedly took off her light grey skirt to tie a shimmering red knee length one, after having taken off the grey leotard and put on a tight fitting, thin sleeved, red one. The five of them had trained to be able to take them off in seconds… all in all it took them twenty five seconds to get ready, with the help of a few friendly hands.

Meanwhile the five guys had been performing alone, displaying their skills as they went through a sequence of tricky steps and high jumps, perfectly synchronized.

Waiting for her cue, trying to catch her breath, Hermione took a red jacket in her hand and taking a deep breath raised herself on her points before walking on the stage. Together the girls approached the young men.

Taking their heads, they drew a large circle with them, the boys relaxing in their grasp. The ballerinas slipped the jackets on them. Whirling the boys took them in their arms. They shifted slightly as they were raised higher, snaking one leg around the young men's arm holding them at their waist, extending the others behind them while arching backwards. Hermione smiled slightly as Terry brought her back on the floor. She had enjoyed working with him. The quiet studious young man was interesting to talk to.

The music kept escalating in intensity and they followed its rhythm.

Hermione refused to look at the audience, looking at her feet, sideways. But she hadn't been as nervous about this as she was for the duet. Here there were ten on the stage. Later there would only be two… and to add to this, she had learnt that the order of the auditions would be preserved, which meant that Harry and her would be the last to dance before the finale.

As the music came to end hand, they all did a cartwheel, without using their hand, then sliding on the grounds, their torso slightly arched backwards and tilted on the left, their arms wide open and slightly raised, their head leaning on their left.

Applauses erupted in the auditorium as they waited for the lights to go off. Once the stage was completely blackened, they left, allowing the next group to settle into position.

Breathing heavily, they gathered their things and headed back to their rooms back stages.

Carefully they took off their costumes, putting them back on the racks. Dressing in some casual clothes, they stretched a bit, before taking off their entire make up. They had about an hour before they would have to dance again.

With a sigh, Hermione undid her hair and turned to Ginny.

"Ginny, do you want to go out for the interval? I could use some fresh hair…"

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"You'll be great, Hermione, but sure, I told Draco to meet me in the Entrance Hall, the boys will probably be there…."

The two of them, after a few words to the other ballerinas, left the room, heading towards the Entrance Hall, their hair back in a ponytail.

There they met Harry, Ron, and Draco conversing with an older looking couple. Curious, Hermione eyed them, before freezing.

They were Harry's parents! THE Lily and James Potter!

She couldn't go there! What would they think of her?

She started to turn, to go back to the backstage room, but her red-haired friend grabbed her before she could take a step.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

"But Ginny! His PARENTS are here, we can't…"

"Hell we can't! Ron and Draco are speaking with them and they're not dead! You talked to my parents before, didn't you? What's the difference with his?"

"They…"

Sighing Hermione relented, knowing, she was fighting a lost cause.

The two girls approached their friends.

Once they reached him, Ginny slipped her arms around her boyfriend, kissing him lightly on his cheek. Turning, Draco, kissed her lips, smiling.

"Hello you…" he said, snaking his arms around her in a loose embrace.

Smiling ginny gave him a peck on the lips before turning towards her brother and Harry.

"You both were great! Congrats."

Harry mock-bowed at her.

"Your performance was quite the sight too…"

Ron looked from his sister to the aven-haired dancer.

"Are you going to compliment yourself for the rest of the evening?..."

Smacking him lightly, Ginny glared at him, earning herself a few laughs.

"Hermione, Ginny, meet my parents, Mum, Dad, the red-head is Ginny Weasley, and the one trying to hide behind her is Hermione Granger, my partner."

The two adults smiled at the young ballerinas.

"Happy to meet you, Mr. and Mrs Potter," said Hermione.

Lily Potter laughed.

"No need to be so formal! Call us Lily and James, as do all of Harry's friends!"

Her husband nodded, smiling.

"So you're Hermione, Harry talked about you a lot. And from what Minnie told us, it seems he met his match in her lessons…" he said, winking at his son.

Hermione blushed a bit, looking at Harry with reproachful eyes.

"They probably exagerate the truth," she mumbled.

A smack on the head made her turn to face Ginny.

"Honnestly Hermione! Modesty is nice, but it gets annoying in the long run!"

Laughs erupted around them.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Thank you Ginny…" She looked up at a mural clock. They still had ten minutes before the end of the interval and they had to do their hair, make up and warm up again… "We should go, if we don't want to have to rush…"

Draco and Ginny nodded, Ron shrugged, he wasn't among those who had been chosen to perform a duet… All the students danced once, that was the policy for this Gala, an exception had been made this year.

"I'll be watching you, good luck!"

The couple left, arm in arm, while Ron made his way through the crowd to find Padma or his current girlfriend, his family or anyone he knew.

Hermione turned towards Harry's parents.

"Glad to have met you," she said, smiling before going back to her rooms.

Returning those words to her, Lily and James Potter smiled at their son.

"They seem nice enough and all of them are good dancers, this Ron fellow will need to work a bit more to catch up, but for now we have no objections to your choice," said Lily.

"Are you sure about Hermione, she was quite shy," pointed James.

Harry nodded.

"She's brillant once she lets go…"

"She was quite good during her part. A bit restrained though…" said his father.

"I'm working on that with her."

"As long as you're sure."

"I am."

Lily looked at her watch.

"You should go, the interval is about to end…. You're going last?"

"Yes."

"Good luck."

Harry nodded and after hugging his parents, left. Most of the seven years were looking at the show from a large room were a Television had been placed, replaying everything which happened on stage.

Only, Ginny, Cho, Lavender and her were going to dance along with Harry, Draco, Cedric and Terry. The fifth years did their parts, then the thirds and the sixth, and it was time for the duets.

Hermione checked her costumes and her face once more in the mirror. She had her done in the same way she had had it for the auditions.

Her dress was a bit different though. After learning she would perform during the Gala, her mother had insisted she improved it. She was now wearing a white flouced skirt reaching the middle of her calves, each flounce having a pink hem. The bodice was pink ornate with white pearls and a few ribbons. White short puffing sleeves tightened around her arms with a pink ribbon completed the costume.

For her make up she had chosen a pale foundation, colored her cheeks pink, used eye liner and mascara. In the end she looked like a true porcelain doll.

"Hermione?"

Harry's voice interrupted her musings.

"Yes?"

"Are you ready? Cho and Terry are nearly done."

Her stomach twisted at those words.

"Hermione?"

"I'm coming…"

With a sigh, she checked one last time that her points were correctly laced before joining Harry.

Seeing her, the dancer smiled.

"Good, let's go," he said exending his hand.

Hermione took it, trembling a bit, something Harry didn't miss.

"Relax… everything will go fine. Remember what I said."

"It's not that easy."

"My dad gave me a trick once," replied Harry, with a serious face. "Everytime I have to perform and that I'm nervous, he told me to imagine seeing the audience in their underwear…."

This wrenched a laugh from the ballerina. It was a bit tensed, but it was a laugh nonetheless.

"There! That's much better!"

Quickly, Harry gave her a peck on the cheek.

"For luck, now, come on, it's nearly time for us to go."

Hermione stared at him, folowing him as a pupet.

Harry POTTER had kissed her, Hermione Granger!

Shaking her head she chased all thoughts of this out of her mind, now was not the time. However she couldn't prevent the burning of her cheeks. Fortunately it went unoticed, thanks to the make up.

Lavender and Terry were finishing their duet as they readied themselves.

"Remember, Hermione there's only you, me and…"

Hermione sighed.

"The music."

Harry squeezed her shoulder.

"Try to sound a bit more happy, will you? Now when we walk on stage, I want you to show what you're really made of, unless you're scared and you want to back down..."

Hermione sent him a fierce glance.

"Let's go!"

Cheers erupted as Terry and Lavender exited the stage after the light went out.

Quickly Hermione walked on the stage, sitting down, settling in her starting position. Head down, eyes closed, she breathed deeply. The music spread in the room and the audience went silent, watching the young ballerina as a spotlight was directed straight on her. Harry made his entrace, saluted by a wave of soft whispers.

He stood behind her and she came to life.

For the following minutes, they went through the duet they had created, improved, refined: they had added a few more daring jumps and lifts, complicated slightly a few basic sequence of steps.

They danced, alone in their bubble where only two things existed: them and the music.

For Hermione it was a revelation: the proof she could be what she had dreamt to become when she was younger, a ballerina.

Too soon, their performance was over, and a second of silence met the dimming of the light like it had been during Ginny and Draco's performance. Then cheers erupted thorough the auditorium, saluting their performance.

A silly grin broke on Hermione face as she disentangled herself from Harry's arms.

"We did it!" she whispered in an unbelieving tone.

Harry only smiled.

"I told you you could do it."

-------------------------

Later that night, once the celebrations among the students were stopped by a zealous Professor Snape and the caretaker M. Filch, Remus and Sirius were found sipping on their drinks with Harry's parents.

"Hogwarts is still the best Dance school around, this Gala was superb!" said Lily.

"That's true, quite a lot of students are showing a lot of promise…" added James.

"Just wait for the End of the year Gala," Sirius smugly announced, "that will be a sight!"

Remus nodded. He, along with the others professors had readied the Gala's program and it sounded extremely promising.

"I heard that the graduating class will present Phoenixia and that Dumbledore allowed scouts to come officially?" asked James.

Sirius nodded.

"Yes, he finally agreed to that, given a few concessions on the companies' parts."

"Like what?" James sounded curious.

"Well, for once free tickets for most of their performance and lessons given by some of their dancers during the year, starting next year."

The four friends sipped on their drinks in silence.

"That's good, now Sirius, do you know if your darling son already made a choice?"

"He would resent being adressed as such, but yes, he gave e a list of people he had in mind, nothing really definite, though I must say that at least three of them are quasi sure to be asked."

He handed a paper to the couple seated across him.

Lily snatched it, mentally betting on a few names.

"Hmm… Malfoy, Weasley, good choice there, they were really good together, charming too,…. Diggory, yes he's the one who did those neat spun jumps…. Chang…. Weasley, Patil, they'll need a bit of work, but it could be done…Boots… Why is there some with a question mark?"

"It's those he's not really sure about."

"I see that he put Hermione Granger first thing," said James, reading above his wife's shoulder.

Remus nodded.

"He's really enjoying working with her. I know they go running together every morning…"

Both adults' eyebrows shot up at that.

"Really?"

Sirius grinned.

"Yes, apparently Harry went running on the first day and found her there, doing laps around the lake, or the stadium, I don't remember… They've been running together since then."

James and Lily glanced at each other.

"They seem quite close," started Lily.

"They are," confirmed Remus. Harry is working with her everyday and she tutors him on his weakest subjects."

"Do you think?..." James' voice sounded hopeful.

"NO," cut Remus, "If anything, Harry is loyal."

"Too bad…," sighed Harry's father.

"James!"

Lily sounded down right offended.

"Lily, you know how I feel about Emily. No offence to Armand but his niece will never understand the dedication Harry shows to the company…"

"James, you promised…"

Her husband raised his hand in a pacifying gesture.

"I won't do anything, I swear!"

"You better not! The same goes for you, Sirius," she added, catching the glance shared by the two men.

The dark haired men rolled their eyes.

"Lily… As if we'd do something like that!"

The look the woman sent them spoke of itself, making Remus burst out in laughter at the pouting face of the two adults.

The rest of the night was spent laughing, talking, planning, and reminiscing…

-------------------------

The next days, the castle was filled with talk, to the annoyance of the teachers, except Snape which used this as reasons for point taking.  
Little by little, life at the castle went back to its old routine, but not for long as the Christmas Party at Rosmerta's was shedulded a week after it. Only Fourth years and above were allowed to go. It was on evey tongue and as usual passions ran wild. The usual spats about a boy or clothes took place and to Hermione's dismay she was brought in the thick of it, the news that Harry was going with her traveled through the school at record speed.

Her performance during the Gala had been praised by many teachers who had encouraged her to pursue her efforts. She had to admit, even if it was only to herself that being looked up to was quite nice, but also bothersome. She was well aware of the envy and jealousy her rise from the rank of a nobody to one of those who mattered had been resented by quite a few people, and it was in moment like this she was glad to have Draco, Ginny and Harry's protection. She was sure the consequences would have been quite dire had they not been there.

Anyway, as the week drew to an end, she found herself in Ginny's room, since the younger girl didn't trust Hermione to get ready on her own. Sometimes it irked her that Ginny thought of her as a little girl who needed to be told what to wear, what make up to use, how to do her hair. After all, she was older!

So, here she was, watching as Ginny showed her different type of make up.

Looking at her watch, she sighed.

"Ginny," she said, "You only have an hour to get ready, so you should start, I'm sure I'll be fine."

Shooting her a dubious look, the red-head complied, seeing that she was only aggravating her friend. That didn't prevent her from glancing from time to time at her to check that she wasn't doing something wrong.

Hermione looked at her reflexion in the closest mirror. She was wearing a black, form-fitting dress. It was cut diagonally, reaching her knee on one side and the middle of her calf on the other and flowing slightly around her legs. The dress was cut lower than her usual clothes, showing a bit of cleveage.

Ginny had convinced her to leave her hair down, after using a lotion to tame it a few clips held it in check. She settled for a discreet make up and started to put on her shoes. As far as jewelry went, she was only wearing a pair of silver earings shaped as roses and the matching necklace.

"Ginny, I'll be back in a few seconds, I forgot my shawl."

The other girl was putting her eyeliner and only grunted, concentrated as she was on her work. Shaking her head, Hermione walked quickly to her room then back to Ginny's to find the girl slipping her shoes on .

"Ready?"

Taking a look at herself in the mirror, checking her nails, Ginny finally nodded.

"Yes, let's go, Draco and the others will wait for us in the Hall."

The older girl smiled, Ginny definitively liked to party, she was nearly bouncing with repressed excitement.

Taking her handbag, she followed her friends, tugging a bit on her dress to try to cover herself a bit more.

Draco immediately spotted them, or more likely Ginny and gave her a white rose she immediately placed in her copper locks, fixing it with ease, after kissing her boyfriend.

"You're stunning Ginny."

This earned him another kiss.

"You're looking great, Hermione," he added, looking at the quiet friend of his girlfriend. It wasn't often you saw Hermione dressed up.

The girl rolled her eyes.

"Save your flattery for Ginny, Draco."

"Is it flattery when he speaks the truth?" The voice startled her and whirled on her heel to face Harry.

Her first reaction was to think that Emily was indeed lucky to have such a boyfriend. Dressed in black trousers and white shirt, a black jacket thrown abover his shoulder, Harry Potter was indeed a good-looking young man. Not in the same way as Draco who had inherited the aristocratic featue his family tried to preserve by all means, but good-looking nonetheless.

"You're looking good too," Hermione managed to say once she got a hold of herself.

The dancer smiled at her.

"Thanks."

He offered her his arm.

"Shall we go, fair lady?"

She barely stopped herself from giggling.

"Lead the way, my good sir."

-------------------------

Four hours later, Hermione found herself enjoying a party, for maybe the first time in her life. She had danced a lot: alone, with Harry, Viktor, Ron, Terry, Draco and a few others and was even glad to have come, not that she would tell it to Ginny.

Rosmerta's pub was filled with teenagers, dancing, laughing, drinking, and talking, to sum it up, everyone was enjoying themselves.

A dance area had been cleared and tables had been spread around. Fortunately the building was big enough to hold those parties, since the majority of the students allowed to come were there.

For now, they were taking a break, sitting at a table and sipping on their refreshments, trying not to choke on their drinks as Ron was performing an accurate caricature of the sullen Physics and Chemistry's teacher.

"Potter! Detention for breathing too loud! Why don't you stop! Zero, you forgot to put a point on three 'I'!"

Suddenly Harry perked up as the DJ started to speak.

"Guys and girls, we hope you're enjoying yourselves and now let's rock!"

Immediately, Harry and Draco were on their feet, dragging their partners to the dance floor, despite their protests.

Rolling their eyes, the two girls followed them nonetheless, secretly enjoying dancing like this. It was a break from the discipline of ballet.

Unknown to them, people had started to clear the area, leaving them a wide circle to dance. They attracted quite a few eyes as the boys lifted their partners, spun them around, never missing their move.

Finally they came to a stop, the four of them breathing heavily.

Hermione was currently wrapped in Harry's arms and dipped backwards, their faces brought close together. Too close for Hermione's sake.

With a large grin the ebony-haired boy straightened them both. Still holding Hermione, his arms wrapped around her waist and shoulders, Harry shot a grin at Draco, only to spot him kissing Ginny.

Applause broke around them and Hermione flushed brightly as Harry made her bow theatrically.

"Harry!" she whined trying to broke away, but his grip was strong.

"Relax Hermione, put on a smile and bow," he said, kissing her cheek.

Rolling her eyes, she complied, but she looked up suddenly when she heard the clicking of a camera.

"What was that?" she said, bewildered.

"Don't worry, it's nothing…"

But somehow, Hermione had a hard time believing it. Harry's face was closed up, and his eyes were sweeping through the crowd surrounding them, before narrowing on a woman in the back, a notepad in her hand as she scribbled hurriedly on it.

Hermione frowned a bit as Harry dragged her back to the table where Ron and Padma were waiting, smiles on their faces.

"What's the matter Harry?" said Hermione, set on learning what the matter with him was.

The young man slumped on his chair.

"Skeeter!" he said, as if he was announcing the end of the world.

-------------------------

Here it is, done, before you kill me, have a peek at the next chapter:

…

"What's this about!?"

Harry looked up, a bit bewildered, as an obviously annoyed Emily handed him a magazine.

He understood quickly the cause of it. In front page stood a small photo of him and Hermione, at the end of their rock during the party, under the title: Harry Potter's new sweetheart!

He sighed…. He'd have to do something about that Skeeter woman. This journalist was a definite nuisance.

"Emily… Since when do you believe the trash written in those magazines! You should know better! Hermione is just a friend, and a great dancer who happens to be my partner at school, that's all."

Emily crossed her arm on her chest, the picture of indignation.

Sometimes she overdid it… Maybe it was a professional deformation, being an actress and all of that…

"That doesn't explain why you took her to the Party! Everybody says you're always with her!"

Harry was starting to get annoyed with the way this conversation was going.

"Emily, you couldn't come to the party, and some of my friends wanted Hermione to go for once, so I took her, as a FRIEND. I happen to enjoy her company and she's an amazing ballerina. There's nothing else between us."

This didn't seem to convince his girlfriend, so he continued.

"And I'm glad to see you trust me that well." Sarcasm was dripping from his words. "Honestly, do you think I'm that shallow!? Can't you trust me with this?" He paused for a few seconds. "Who do you trust, Skeeter, or me?"

…

Well, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Naia


	6. Who said Skeeter was good news?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize.

A/N: Well, here it is.

Not that sure about this chapter since I'm currently destroying what little brain cells I have left trying to hammer inhuman amounts of information in my brain for my exams, it might be reworked, or not, I'll see…

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless…

Naia

Chapter Six

« Skeeter? » Draco sounded puzzled. « Isn't she this journalist for 'Gossip'? »

Harry nodded dejectedly.

"True and she also made her job to splash my life story, or to be more accurate all the gossip she could gather, in her articles…" He turned to Hermione. "I'm really sorry about it Hermione."

The young ballerina looked at him, a bit confused.

"What for?"

Harry sighed.

"You can be sure that in the next edition of Gossip they'll be two pages dedicated to a liaison between us, complete with photos and comments from people of the school."

Hermione paled.

Draco frowned.

"He can't be that bad, I'm sure the editor will prevent Skeeter from going overboard…"

Harry shook his head.

"You don't know her Draco… She likes nothing more than reporting rumours and destroying people's life…"

The blond tilted his head.

"Do not worry yourself over this for tonight, just enjoy it, don't let her ruin the moment for you! Moreover she left," he added, noticing the woman was now absent from her corners and couldn't be spotted elsewhere in the room.

Harry looked around and shrugged, he would deal with Skeeter later. As he heard a Latin rhythm coming up he took Hermione's hand and dragged her to the dancing floor. Since he had for once a great dancer as escort, he wasn't going to waste the moment…

As with all parties taking place at Rosemerta's pub, it ended at 4 am sharp. To prevent any accident, the school provided transport back to the school.

Hermione was exhausted, Harry had kept her dancing nearly the whole night, and if it wasn't him, it was Draco, Ron, Viktor or some other guy. She smiled tiredly at Padma before leaning on the car window and closing her eyes.

Padma shook her head, smiling. She had been happy that Hermione had come after all, the usual discreet girl turned to Harry.

"Thanks for taking Hermione, Harry."

The black haired dancer looked at her, frowning a little.

"What are you saying, I'm sure another guy would have asked her, had I not. Viktor probably would have, he seems really fond of her"

"Maybe, but he is a professor's assistant, so Hermione would have refused."

Harry smiled slightly

"Yes, Miss sticker to the rules…."

Ginny returned the smile.

"Exactly, and also Miss Oblivious. She's convinced Krum only sees her as a friend, honestly."

The others shook their head, it was clear to them that the Bulgarian was fond, if not to say smitten with Hermione. Looking at said girl, they saw her shivering slightly. Her thin shawl was not enough to ward her from the chills of the night.

Harry took of his coat and covered her form.

The rest of the ride back to the school was spent talking quietly while Hermione slept. As they spotted the castle's lights, Harry leaned on her, shaking her shoulder lightly.

"Hermione, Hermione, you need to get up, we're nearly arrived…"

Sleepily, the young ballerina opened her eyes and stretched a little, yawning.

A bit confused, she looked down on the black jacket covering her.

"You were shivering," said Harry, shrugging before taking back his jacket as she handed it back.

"Thank you"

"No problem, can't have my partner ill, can I?"

Hermione chuckled.

"You're right, we won't go running tomorrow?" she added with a whisper. She hoped no, she didn't think she was up to a jog after only a few hours of sleep.

Harry raised his eyebrow.

"What? You won't be up at 6?" he whispered back, teasingly.

She yawned again as they slowly got off the bus.

"Very funny…"

Ginny turned to her.

"So Hermione, it wasn't so bad, was it?"

The older girl shook her head.

"No… I admit I had a great time…."

Ginny grinned widely.

"Smashing! Then you'll come with us to the New Year celebrations?"

Hermione hesitated.

"I don't know Ginny, I told my parents I would do it with them…"

"Come on! You'll have fun!"

Hermione shook her head.

"No, at least not the whole thing. I'll stay with my parents till midnight, then I'll join you."

The red head sighed.

"Well that's better than nothing… Are you going too?" She asked to the others. They all nodded, except Padma.

"I don't think I'll be able to, Parvati and I were told our grandparents were organising a dinner so I expect we'll have to attend it…"

They followed the other students on their way back to the castle talking about the party and other things. Choosing to walk the two flights of stairs instead of waiting in line for the lifts, Hermione reached her room. Yawning widely, she typed her code, waving to a few girls who had talked to her during the night.

She entered, closing the door behind her and locking it. She dragged herself to the bathroom, changing into her sleep wear after getting rid of the make up and jewellery she had worn during the party.

It was with a contented sigh that she snuggled under her covers and fell asleep.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Life went back to its usual routine and three days later the students left for their homes. None of them lived too far from London so they had agreed on spending the countdown in the City. In the end, Hermione wasn't able to go. Her parents had decided to surprise her and had booked three places for a week long stay in Egypt.

All in all the holidays passed quickly and before she realised it she was on the platform of King's Cross Station, waiting for the train.

"Hermione!"

Turning she saw Ginny and Ron waving at her, making their way, their trolley in front of them.

After exchanging the usual greetings, they started to talk of their holidays.

"Did you see Draco, Padma, or Harry?"

Ginny's smile widened.

"Yes, we met, not Padma of course, for the New Year. You really missed something, you know. But Egypt must have been great too…"

"It was," agreed Hermione. The trip had been fascinating. "So how were the celebrations?"

Ginny was nearly bouncing with excitement.

"Well, Draco managed to get us tickets for this VIP party through his father. It was awesome, you should have seen the dresses and jewels of the women there…"

Ron snorted.

"What she fail to say is that Draco had offered her a gown for the party…"

"You simply must see it, Hermione!" gushed Ginny. "It's…. amazing…. Anyway, we met with Harry and Emily and all went to the party in Draco's limo. We had champagne, and he offered me roses…"

Ginny would have told more, but at this moment, two arms encircled her waist and she was lifted in the air, squealing.

"Draco! Get me down!"

The blond grinned.

"Your words are my command, milady…" Putting her down, they kissed, making Ron look away, muttering "I did not see that, I did not"

Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin as someone tapped her shoulder. She whirled on her heel to met Harry's smiling face.

"Hello, Hermione, nice tan."

"Hello to you too. Thanks, I guess Egypt does that to you."

"Guess so. You had nice holidays I gather then?". He re-shouldered his backpack as he pushed his trolley slightly aside.

"Yes, and you?"

"I had a great time."

Hermione frowned.

"Is there a problem?"

He shrugged.

"Not really, It's just that Emily was a bit difficult, she's really anxious about her exams, apparently the top five will be able to be part of the casting of Jonathan Trent's next movie, Hercules …"

Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"Trent, the latest Hollywood darling? He's about our age, a bit older, I think… Well it would be a great opportunity for her."

"Yes, she'll get her results next week-end and anyway she's coming to Hogwarts."

"Harry! Hermione! Get over here! The train is coming!" yelled Ron.

The two dancers pushed their trolley to where their friends where and moments later they boarded the train and found themselves a compartment.

The three boys started to talk about some new games or what not as Ginny turned to Hermione. She sent Padma a look and both girl moved to be on both sides of Hermione.

"Now Hermione, we need to have a serious talk… a serious girl talk."

Ginny's tone was grave as she pierced a hole in her friend's head.

"There is one thing you never do Hermione," continued Padma, "you never go on a date with a guy and write to your friends. The evening was interesting and leaves it at that!"

Ginny nodded.

"That's cruelty! Can you even imagine what our overactive imaginations came up with?"

Hermione looked properly appalled now, her cheek reddening at Ginny's innuendos.

"Ginny!!" she yelled. The three boys looked up before going back to whatever they were doing - girl talk, and they better not interfere….

"Hermione!" mimicked the Weasley girl, "now spill: where, when, how, what happen?"

"And details, not the ten-word description," added Padma.

Hermione sighed.

"He took me to the Swan around 8 pm. The food was great, we talked a lot and then we went for a walk around the lake. It was lovely. Then he drove me back to the school and we left for the holidays the day after…"

Ginny swatted Hermione's head.

"Details!"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What?"

Padma tutted.

"What were you both wearing? Did he offer you anything? What did you talk about? Are you two dating?"

"Padma, don't be si…"

"Silly, now answer the questions."

"You know you have to wear formal stuff to go to the Swan, he was wearing black pants and jacket with a white shirt. I was wearing my violet dress. He gave me a white rose when we were seated. We talked about the school, the ballet, his experiences, books, our projects for the futures…"

"Did he ask you out?"

"N-No" Hermione started fidgeting with her hands.

Ginny stilled her.

"Hermione, you may be a great ballerina, but you are not a good liar, so did he ask you out?"

Hermione batted her hands away.

"You're really being noisy…"

"And you're eluding the question."

She seemed to weigh her answer.

"Alright, he sort of asked me…"

Both girls exchanged a confused look.

"Sort of?"

"Well, while we were walking around the lake, he asked me if I was seeing anyone at the moment…."

"And!"

Hermione stuck her tongue out.

"I told him I was currently a proud member of the single club…"

"Hermione if you don't spill it now, I'm going to torture it out of you," threatened Ginny.

"To make a long story short, he asked me if I would mind being his girlfriend."

"Ah! I was right!!"

Ginny looked extremely smug, while Padma shook her head.

"That's not a hard thing since Hermione is completely oblivious to things, even if they were to dance naked in front of her."

Hermione didn't even bother to answer, she just crossed her arms and waited for the two ballerinas to calm down.

"So," finally said Ginny, "what did you say?"

Hermione resumed her fidgeting.

"Well, I didn't know what to say really, I wasn't expecting something like this…. So I told him I needed to know him better and that as he was leaving soon it would be difficult to maintain a relationship… a long distance relationship rarely works out…" She started to play with a strand of hair. "He gave me his address and phone number and we've been writing each other since then… He's a nice guy."

"Pay up, Ron. I told you she wouldn't agree right away."

The three girls looked up to see the tall red head hand some money to Draco.

"Ronald, tell me you didn't bet on my love life…"

The young man looked down.

Hermione's shout was heard at the other end of the train.

"RONALD WEASLEY!!!!!"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

That put aside, the trip was eventless, even if Ron ended with a sore cheek for the rest of the evening, with Hermione glowering at him the whole time and soon they were back to their usual routine. The week-end came quickly. The teachers had done mainly review of the past trimester work. On Saturday morning Hermione as usual met with Harry for their morning jog. They parted ways to get ready for breakfast. Hermione met with Ginny and Padma in the corridor and the three friends headed for the Hall.

Draco, Ron, Harry, along with Cedric and Terry were eating together. They greeted the girls cheerfully, Draco kissing Ginny good morning.

They ate quietly as post was distributed. This week-end was an open one, meaning that families were allowed to visit and that students could go in town.

The hall had started to empty itself when a pretty girl stormed inside, a magazine rolled in her fist.

"Harry, isn't it Emily?" said Ginny, smiling.

The dark-haired young man nodded, before returning to his plate, finishing quickly. The girl smiled tightly at Ginny, before turning to Harry.

"Could I speak with you alone for a few minutes."

Slightly confused, Harry nodded and was dragged outside the Hall in the nearest room. He had barely enough time to register everything that Emily had whirled on her heel.

"What's this about!?" she snapped.

Harry looked up, a bit bewildered, as an obviously annoyed Emily handed him a magazine.

However he understood quickly the cause of his girlfriend's ire. In front page stood a small photo of him and Hermione, at the end of their rock during the party, under the title: Harry Potter's new sweetheart!

He sighed…. He'd have to do something about that Skeeter woman. This journalist was a definite nuisance.

"Emily… Since when do you believe the trash written in those magazines! You should know better! Hermione is just a friend, and a great dancer who happens to be my partner at school, that's all."

Emily crossed her arm on her chest, the picture of indignation.

Sometimes she overdid it… Maybe it was a professional deformation, being an actress and all of that…

"That doesn't explain why you took her to the Party! Everybody says you're always with her!"

Harry was starting to get annoyed with the way this conversation was going.

"Emily, you couldn't come to the party, and some of my friends wanted Hermione to go for once, so I took her, as a FRIEND. I happen to enjoy her company and she's an amazing ballerina. There's nothing else between us."

This didn't seem to convince his girlfriend, so he continued.

"And I'm glad to see you trust me that well." Sarcasm was dripping from his words. "Honestly, do you think I'm that shallow!? Can't you trust me with this?" He paused for a few seconds. "Who do you trust, Skeeter, or me?"

This seemed to mollify Emily.

"You, of course…."

"Then why this scene!"

She shrugged.

"I'm sorry Harry, but from what I heard, it looked like there really was something going on…."

"From what you heard?"

Emily waved dismissively.

"Not important… You'll never guess what happened!"

Harry rolled his eyes. Talk about mood swings…

"Your results?"

"Yes….."

"You got in!" Harry's face broke in a large grin.

Emily launched himself at him, kissing him, then taking a few steps back.

"You are looking at the future Megara, I was top of the school!"

Harry leaned forwards and kiss her.

"You're amazing Emy."

"Now, if you presented me to this Hermione?" she said with a smile.

"Of course, come on."

They walked back in the hall, hand in hand and went to sit with Harry's friends.

Harry turned to Hermione who was trying to read a book, while Ginny attempted to prove the merit of nail polish to her.

"Hermione Granger, Emily Varington, my girlfriend.

Hermione smiled at her.

"Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise, Harry told me a lot about you."

"Same here, was there a problem?"

Harry shook his head.

"No, just Skeeter being Skeeter."

"It is that bad?" said Hermione, frowning.

"Read for yourself" replied Emily, handing her the rumpled magazine

Looking at the title, Hermione immediately knew the cause of the girl's annoyance: "Hogwarts Romance, a young ballerina wins the heart of the Potter Prodigy"

Apparently Harry and Hermione were having a torrid liaison after Hermione had seduced him away from his girlfriend. Skeeter also added that she was also toying with the affections of Viktor Krum, playing both boys at the same time…

"How could she be allowed to publish such trash!" she said, passing the paper to Ginny and Draco.

They read it quietly and by the end of their lecture, Ginny was definitively angered while Draco's face was an unreadable mask. He looked pensively at the magazine in his hand before looking up at his friend.

"Harry, Hermione," he said, with a cold edge in his tone, "would you mind if I phoned my father about this?"

Hermione reddened a bit, while Harry shrugged.

"Draco, I don't think its necessary…" she started, cut by Harry.

"Do as you wish, but my parents already tried to make her stop, it didn't really work…"

Draco smiled predatorily.

"We'll see…"

There was a small silence broken by Ron.

"Padma, could you pass me the butter, please?"

They looked at each other and burst into laughter as Ron huffed in mock indignation. Chuckling, Padma handed him the butter.

"By the way," said Padma, "Did you hear where the Valentine ball would be held?"

Ginny frowned.

"No, I know people were saying it would be at Rosemerta, but I think nothing was truly decided."

Padma smiled.

"Then allow me to be the one to announce it. The Ball will take place at Hogwarts. The student committee managed to convince the Headmaster to organize it here."

A few heads turned at this. Not that people would admit they were eavesdropping, but that didn't stop them.

Ginny was decidedly excited at this idea.

"You're sure, it would be awesome!"

Padma nodded.

"Yes, I spoke with Cho yesterday, she's in charge of the decoration group. Alicia and Kevin are those in charge of the whole organisation. They'll be poster for those who want to help them. It should be announced tonight."

Draco encircled his girlfriend in his arms.

"Then, would you give me the honour of being your escort for the ball, Ginevra?" he asked.

Ginny only kissed him.

"I believe that answers your question."

Harry turned to Emily who was looking at her agenda.

"Emily? Will you be able to come?"

The young woman looked up and shook her head.

"I'm sorry Harry, but the shooting starts in a week in Greece and will last for about five months."

Harry smiled.

"Then, would you mind if I went with Hermione?" he asked lowly.

Emily frowned a bit but finally nodded.

"Why not?"

"Thanks."

The group talked a bit more about the party, but then the conversation turned to Emily's shooting. They spent the day showing her around.

All in all the week-end passed quickly and on Monday, the real work for the ballet started.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"No! No! No!!"

All the dancers stopped moving, looking at Sirius Black who looked like he was about to rip his hair out.

"For the last time! Ginny you have to wait for twelve beats, not ten. Then it's three jeté, a grand jeté, two chassé and then the lift. You're always doing three chassé…."

"But…"

"There is no but, and the corps, next thing you're going to be stuck to the back wall. Take two steps forwards! Take your position, we're doing it once more!"

He turned to put the CD on track.

For the first minutes, there was nothing to say…. He watched smiling as the dancers performed perfectly the moves. Then his smile started to disappear as more and more mistakes were made, or as the moves were less and less coordinate. Finally as Ginny once again got her steps wrong and missed her cue for the lift, Harry caught her. Sirius stopped the music.

"Ok, Enough for today, rehearse what we learnt today for tomorrow." He turned towards Remus.

"Moony, remind me again why I decided to leave the company to teach here?"

Remus only smirked.

Together, the two men tidied the room, locking the door behind them. The auditorium was the only room forbidden to students. On their way back they passed several rooms filled with students. They stopped a few minutes at Minerva's rooms, watching the eleven year-old going through a routine which was by now ingrained in their brain.

Chuckling they resumed their walk but halted again upon hearing voices.

"No, Ginny, only two chassé, or else you'll be on your wrong foot for the lift. Harry can't catch you if you start from your right one, your leg is blocking him this way."

"I'm sorry Hermione, I don't see how you do it and I just can't jump from my left foot."

"Put the CD on, I'll show you, OK?"

Sirius and Remus glanced at each other as the now familiar notes started to echo in the room.

They approached and looked through the windows. Hermione, Harry, Ginny and Draco were working. Hermione were currently dancing, Draco and Ginny watching. Sirius smiled as he discreetly, tap his feet with the beat. The two of them were going over the sequence without faltering once, both smiling, finally Hermione came to the passage Ginny had trouble with, executing it without missing her steps, ending in Harry's arm as he lifted her effortlessly. He brought her to the floor, sending her into a pirouette ending with an arabesque.

Draco stopped the music.

"Did you see, Ginny?"

The red haired ballerina nodded.

"Alright, it's doable, could you just go over the sequence, slowly with me?"

"Yes, Come, Harry, you went over the steps for tomorrow?"

Harry nodded.

"Then can you work them with Draco, I'll do it with Ginny…."

Sirius motioned to Remus to follow him.

Once they were out of hearing range, Sirius looked at Remus.

"This girl will go far."

Remus looked doubtful.

"I don't know…."

Sirius starred.

"You're joking, did you see that? If Harry doesn't take her, I'll make sure she joins a company as a prima."

"Sirius, I don't deny her talent, she has the ability to become a famous prima, but she'll need someone to push her forwards, or else she'll be as happy dancing in a corps de ballet as she would being a prima ballerina."

Sirius smirked.

"I don't think you have to be worried about that… Did you see their faces ?"

They exchanged a knowing smile before resuming their walk back to their office.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Meanwhile, Hermione had got Ginny through the sequence of steps and they were now covering the next sequence. They had been back to the school for about a month now and the atmosphere was getting rather tense. Skeeter article had not helped in the slightest.

Finally Hermione sat back, motioning to Ginny to go other her part as Kalia. She smiled at her friend as she appraised her performance.

"That was really great Ginny."

The red head gave her a tired smile.

"You know, sometimes I think you should be Kalia, I mean, you probably know the steps better than I do!"

Hermione shook her head.

"I don't have your presence on stage, Ginny. I might have the technique, but not the charisma needed for this role."

"You sure?"

"Yes, moreover …. No, you really deserve the role, should we call it a night?"

Nodding, Ginny started to stretch, followed by Hermione, they were soon joined by Harry and Draco. Harry surveyed his friends, enjoying the silence. He frowned a bit upon seeing Hermione's face. The girl looked completely beat.

"Hermione, are you fine? You seemed knackered…."

She looked up, startled  
.

"Yes, Yes, it's nothing a good night won't solve…"

"You sure?"

She nodded distractedly  
. Harry looked at the others who shrugged. They could see there was something going on, but, what, they had no clue.

Ending their stretching, they gathered their stuff and went to their rooms to get changed before dinner.

On their way out, Draco took Ginny apart.

"Keep an eye on her, she reallly looks bad…"

His girlfriend nodded.

"I know, she's been stressed for a week… I just thought she was pushing herself too much, but something is off."

"And she didn't tell you anything?..."

"You know her, a real clam as soon as it concerns private stuff…"

Draco smiled.

"That's Hermione for you, just keep an eye and an ear out, ok?"

Ginny sent him a you-really-think-you-need-to-tell-me look, drawing chuckles from her boyfriend, before they got distracted by each other…

"Hey, come on, or we'll be late for dinner!"

Smiling, the couple left the room.

For the next week, Ginny tried to find what was bugging her friend. Hermione was growing more and more tired, black bags under her eyes, a constant jumpiness… She had enlisted Padma to help her. However, it was by pure luck that they finally found the reasons behind their friend's behaviour.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

It was nearly Valentine day and the school was bubbling with anticipation for the coming dance.

Post was distributed around and Hermione received a small red package.

Ginny squealed with delight.

"Ooooh a secret admirer Mione?"

"Go on, open it!" Padma urged her.

Hermione had paled dramatically and her hands were trembling slightly.

Draco frowned at this.

"Is there a problem, Hermione?"

"No, nothing."

"Then, why don't you open it? Go on!"

Hermione seemed to look around, desperate for something.

"I-I'll open it in my room, we don't have much time left and Snape will kill us if we're late…."

By then Draco was up and standing near the ballerina.

"Hermione, you're not a good liar; we have still thirty minutes left, and we don't have Snape today, we have Sprout. Why don't you open it?"

Nodding, Hermione started to unwrap the package. She knew what she would find in it.

Taking it from her hands, Draco slowly opened it. His hands stilled as he took in the contents of the 'present'.

Hermione looked up to see his face was set in a cold mask.

Without saying a word, he passed it to Ginny, before kneeling next to her.

"How long has it been going on, Hermione? Why didn't you tell us?"

His voice was surprisingly gentle. Ginny had by now passed the box to Harry, Padma and Ron. All of them were careful to hide it from any onlookers.

Harry stood up, his eyes cold with fury.

"Draco, let's talk somewhere less crowded," he said quietly before, helping Hermione to her feet and all but carrying her to an unused classroom, followed shortly by the others.

Hermione started fidgeting as they gathered around her, Ginny passing an arm around her shoulders and hugging her.

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

Hermione shook herself.

"Can I see it?"

Padma seemed unsure but finally relented and handed her the box.

The inside was black, there was a shattered statue of a ballerina, a photo, obviously taken from Gossip where Hermione's face had been burned away with some acid. A folded letter, composed with letter taken from a magazine was addressed to her. She didn't bother opening it. She had received enough of them to know the contents by now.

Slowly, Harry took the box from her and put it on the grounds.

"Hermione, How long have you been receiving letters or packages like this?"

The ballerina looked on the verge of tears.

"I don't know…. About three weeks, maybe four, I didn't really give it more thought at first, but then there was the phone calls, and the photos…"

She started to sob. With a sigh Harry took her in his arms, letting her vent her pent up feelings. Ginny looked up at Draco, feeling helpless. The blond took her in his arms. She had faced something similar when she had started to date Draco, but the blond had quickly put a stop to it. Nobody threatened a friend of his, least of all his girlfriend.

Finally Hermione calmed down. Wiping her eyes, she straightened up, disentangling herself from Harry's arms.

"Thanks, sorry for going hysterical on you."

"You've nothing to be sorry for, Hermione," said Padma, "but what I don't understand is why you didn't tell us anything?"

Hermione looked down, ashamed.

"Well, I thought nothing of it at first… but after a week, I felt that if I ignored it, it would stop… And with all the work we have, I didn't want to bother all of you…"

"You silly girl!" said Ginny, "that's why you were so tired of late?"

Hermione nodded.

"About two weeks ago, I started receiving calls on my cell in the middle of the night. I tried to trace them back, but the number is either protected, or it's a public booth in town or in London."

By then, Draco had started pacing in the room; he stopped and looked at Hermione.

"Alright, did you keep the previous letters you received? I'll send them to my dad," seeing her nod, he continued. "Then you're going to change your phone number and I'll make a call to ask for a tracking to be done on every call."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but was cut by the young man.

"Don't bother Hermione, you're my friends, and nobody threatened friends of the Malfoys."

Harry looked at Draco.

"Are you sure your dad won't have problems?"

Draco sent him a wolfish smile.

"Don't worry about it…"

Harry was a bit taken aback but nodded. He had heard of the man. He was high enough in the political circles for such a thing to be easy for him.

"Well," he said, "if you need help, tell me, my parents have their own connections…"

Draco nodded.

"But, I don't…"

Draco turned towards Hermione.

"Shush you, you're our friend Hermione. Now I want you to give me those letters or anything you were or will be sent and also I want to think about people who could resent you… You can tell Padma you put them, Ron and her finish earlier than us, so they'll have time before Hooch's torture…"

"Maybe it's Lavender or…" said Ron. The red-head boy was uncomfortable. This seemed surreal to him. Sure he knew that there was a lot of intimidation going among the ballerina but he didn't think it ever went this far….

"No," cut Hermione, trying to compose herself back together, "they are envious, vindictive, ambitious, but I don't think they would go to such lengths…."

Harry walked to Hermione and hugged her.

"Well, we don't have enough time to go see the headmaster now, but we'll go see him at lunch."

Hermione backed away.

"No way! What will he think?"

"That you need help, that's all…"

"But…"

Harry silenced her, placing a finger on her lips, looking in her eyes.

"No, Hermione, this is serious and we can't leave it at that." He turned to Draco. "The new issue of Gossip will come out in a few days, on Valentine I think, did you father manage to do something about Skeeter?"

The blond shrugged.

"I don't know, he told me he would see what he could do… Hermione, do you feel up to go to class? Sprout's lesson is going to start in a few minutes…"

The brunette nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I think… let's go…"

They left the room and hurried to their respective classrooms, arriving barely in time as the teacher started to call the roll. Hermione couldn't manage to concentrate. Fortunately, Sprout mainly did review for the upcoming test and Mrs Hooch did her usual routine. During McGonagall's course, Hermione grew more and more nervous. Seeing this, Harry tightened his hold on her.

They went through the sequence without an hitch, as usual, but Harry couldn't wait for the lesson to end, he paid extra attention to his partner, wanted to be sure he would catch her up, should she miss a step. He never needed too.

He gave an admiring thought to the girl, she managed to execute McGonagall's tricky moves despite everything. He loosened his grip to give more flow to their movements.

They were rehearsing a series of jumps and lifts which would be part of the End of the year performance. Two steps, pas de bourré, fouetté, Hermione starting a pirouette while Harry drew a circle around her, doing grand jeté tourné. He came back behind her using his momentum with a chain of turns. She slowed her pirouette ending in an arabesque before bending forwards, back arched, her leg slightly bent, high in the hair. Harry pushed on the leg making her turn slowly. As she finished her turn, she brought her leg quickly down, used the momentum to turn and leap in the air, arm in crown, legs in fourth, Harry lifting her by her waist and turning. McGonagall marked the last beats of the sequence.

"And six, seven, let her down, eight, attitude!"

Breaths heavy, they held the attitude for the regular four beat, unmoving, before relaxing.

"Harry, Hermione, excellent, Hannah, you need to push more on your leg in your leap, Ernie is doing nearly all the work during the lift. Kevin, be more careful in your turns, your footing is messy…, next groups!"

Walking to the sides, Hermione let herself fell next to Ginny, opening her water bottle and taking a big gulp.

"That was great Hermione, any advice?"

"Be careful with your head in the pirouette and make your turn really sharp before the leap or you'll lose your momentum. Ah, beware your arms position, Joanne nearly punched Greg during her turn…"

The red-head nodded, Standing and slowly mimicking the moves to be sure.

"That's it."

"Ok… it always seems easier when you're doing it…"

Hermione smiled tiredly.

"If you say so…"

"You alright?"

"I'll live."

Ginny nodded and had to leave as McGonagall called the next ones.

Hermione sighed.

"It will be alright," said Ron, offering her a smile. "Between Ginny, Draco and Harry, you can be sure that whoever is sending those things to you will regret it. Now I want to see a smile, you'll see in a week, we'll laugh about this!"

Not really convinced, but wiling to placate her friend, Hermione gave him a small smile before standing up and stretching, trying to improve her position, she could not afford to take it for granted. Wincing as she slowly spread her legs while lowering herself to the ground, holding the position for a minute she then flattened her upper body to the ground, holding it for a minute too, or would have as she was suddenly lifted in the air, barely stopping herself from squealing loudly. Twisting herself, she came face to face with Harry. With a wink he brought back to the floor, not sorry in the least.

"Come on, we're finished…"

"Did you stretched?"

The black-haired dancer huffed in mock indignation.

"Of course mum!" he ducked his head, avoiding the swat to his head. "Now, come, we're going straight to the headmaster."

"Harry…"

"No, go change, the others are waiting for us outside, or do you want me to change you?"

Hermione flushed a bright scarlet then fled to the changing rooms. She was outside McGonagall's rooms ten minutes later. Before she could protest, her friends had dragged her towards the staircases leading to Dumbledore's office.

They were there in no time. Steeling herself, Hermione, raised her hand and knocked three times, waiting for the permission to enter.

A cheerful "come in was heard and they passed the door, stepping in the headmaster's domain.

The room was oddly circular with several painting of the former headmasters hanging on the wall. Dumbledore had apparently gathered a huge collection of odd devices which were spinning, moving with a soft clic-clic.

"Come in, come in,"

Albus Dumbledore was seated at his desk, going other several papers, writing down.

"Take a seat, I'll be done in a few moments."

There were only four chairs, but the dilemma was quickly solved as Ginny sat on Draco's lap, and Harry remained standing behind Hermione's chair, squeezing her shoulder.

Finally, the headmaster put down his pen, bringing his attention to the students seated in front of him, eyes twinkling.

"So, What brings some of the best students of their year in my office when you should be eating your fill?" At this moment, Ron's stomach groaned, apparently agreeing with Dumbledore's statement.

Hermione felt Harry squeeze her shoulder and tried to gather her determination.

"Well…" she faltered and seeing she wouldn't be able to explain, Draco spoke.

"What Hermione means is that for the past three weeks at least she has been harassed through anonymous letters and phone calls. We discovered it this morning and convinced her to come here," he said straight to the point.

The twinkle in the aged man's gaze disappeared.

"I see, could I have a look at the letters?"

Hermione nodded and handed him the package she had received this very morning while Padma placed a thick folder on his desk.

He read the letter that had come with the package, his face closed, then browsed among those Hermione had received before.

He looked and smiled reassuringly at the young ballerina.

"Your friends were right, Miss Granger, things like this only grew worse and I'll take care of this matter."

Hermione felt relieved and her shoulders sagged a bit.

"Thank you headmaster."

"No need, would you mind if your mail was screened, I don't want you to be bothered by this non sense any longer…"

Hermione shook her head.

"Then you should go to lunch, I'll call you later to discuss what measures need to be taken."

Nodding they stood up and started to exit the room, needing to talk with the man.

Hermione smiled thankfully to Ginny and hoped that this whole thing would blow over.

For the coming day, she slept well and nearly forget about the whole situation, as Ginny swept her in a whirl of activities for the Valentine Ball. She was going with Harry again and Ginny had convinced her to wear another dress for the ball, something a little more original than her black one.

She was eating her lunch quietly when Padma stormed at the table and throw the new issue of Gossip on the table.

With a frown, Draco took it, opened it and his features transformed in an icy mask.

"She is dead…."

He laid down the magazine and Everyone saw a big picture of Harry holding Hermione in his arms. The title stood out easily.

'Hogwart's love story, all about the seducing of Harry Potter! The ex-girlfriend finds comfort in the arms of a fellow actor!'


	7. Ball, Classes and Rumours

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize!

A/N: Well, here it is, sorry for the wait. Thanks a lot to all the reviewers and for their input as well as to Rishi for his help with my grammar and spelling.

To those who are lost by the dance linguo in the story, I'm sorry, but I want to try and keep it accurate. I had posted a Dance linguo appendice, but I had to take it down in order to comply with rules. I put it on my yahoo group if you want to have a look.

Well, hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Naia

Chapter 7

_She was eating her lunch quietly when Padma stormed at the table and throw the new issue of Gossip on the table. _

_With a frown, Draco took it, opened it and his features transformed in an icy mask._

_"She is dead…."_

_He laid down the magazine and everyone saw a big picture of Harry holding Hermione in his arms. The title stood out easily._

_'Hogwart's love story, all about the seducing of Harry Potter! The ex girlfriend find comfort in the arms of a fellow actor!'_

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 

Harry took the magazine, an eyebrow raised, and his fork in the other hand, eating while reading Skeeter articles.

He skimmed over the paragraphs concerning his liaison with Hermione and how he was seduced by said ballerina. He arrived at a photo showing Emily in a young man's arms. He recognised Jonathan Trent easily; after all, the actor was making the front page of half the teenage magazines at the moment. Tall, nicely proportioned and muscled, a golden kissed skin, dark brown long hair for the purpose of the film, Harry couldn't see his face since, he was embracing a young woman who was, unmistakingly, Emily. However both of them were wearing their costumes, so the probability of this being the proof of a liaison was close to nil.

Harry read as Skeeter wrote that the 'heartbroken' young and promising actress Emily Varrington had sought 'comfort and support' in her fellow actor, Jonathan Trent, who, in a true 'knight in shining armour' or in this case, lion skin, had helped the distraught young woman.

The 'stunning Miss Varrington' had apparently not been immune to the 'charm and genuine concern' Jonathan Trent had displayed for her and a 'friendship which would soon turn into a pure love' had been born between these 'two rising stars in the Hollywood sky'. If this 'beautiful love story which had gone beyond the scenario and allowed those two souls to meet each other' would last, 'one could only hope for the sake of miss Varrington' who was recovering from the hurt she had suffered due to the greed and ambition of a 'unnamed ballerina' who had been quick at getting the 'oblivious and obviously misled Harry Potter in her clutches'

Skeeter had illustrated her articles with several photos showing Trent hugging Emily, another with his arm around her shoulder as both of them were laughing and a third, once more in costume were they were locked in a heated embrace.

Harry dropped the magazine.

"What a pile of rubbish! I can't believe people believe anything written in this rag." He sighed. "Was it not for the part against Hermione, I would find it really funny."

"So you don't think there is any truth about the Emily-Trent part?"

Harry shook his head.

"Nah. If there is one thing I learnt if that you can't afford to be jealous if you're dating a future actress. I mean I can't count the number of time Emily had to kiss other guys and had to be convincing about it for her plays. If I was to harp on her every time, we would not have lasted a week. I accepted it and she accepted my dancing, though she can be quite possessive…"

Draco was nodding, seeing his point while Ron looked a bit disapproving.

"Well, I don't know how you do it… I know I couldn't."

The red head shrugged and returned to his meal.

"You're the one to talk," replied Ginny. "You still haven't managed to keep a girl for more than two months…"

Ron didn't even bother to answer.

"Anyway," said Harry, "All these photos shows are two actors working together and playing their parts… That's the parts about Hermione who has me worried."

"I'll speak with my dad. He told me he would have a word with the editor, but that I would have to tell him if Skeeter took no heed of the warning."

Harry seemed doubtful.

"I don't know if he can do much. When my parents tried to have her fired or at least to stop those articles, she used the freedom of the press card."

Draco seemed thoughtful.

"True, but there is a difference between reporting facts or spreading lies and disparaging someone without proof…"

Harry shrugged.

"If you say so, I never was that fond of law, so I can't say. That rag put aside, don't we have classes today?"

Hermione who had stayed silent for the most part nodded.

"Yes, Ron and Padma with Snape and you know how much he likes lateness…"

There was a groan as the two got up. The other four had Vector this morning as they were presenting their work on Shakespeare.

They met for McGonagall's lesson and Ron was laughing with mirth.

"You'll never guess what happened!"

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"No, but you're going to tell us, aren't you."

Ron didn't spare him a glance.

"Snape caught Lavender and Parvati gossiping about Skeeter articles, they had the magazine opened on their knee… You should have heard him! There are in detention for the week!"

The youths laughed at that.

"That must have been priceless!"

"It was," said Padma. "I thought Snape was going to have a stroke"

Chuckling, they made their way to the changing before entering McGonagall dominion. As they worked on new lifts, Harry bent on Hermione.

"We're still going together for the ball?"

Hermione shrugged, lifting herself on her pointe, arm in second.

"As you want."

"Of course I still want to. You're too good a dancer to stay all the night in your room."

"I don't mind…"

Harry didn't answer immediately as he concentrated on his move.

"I noticed, but you can't stay all the time cooped up there… so it's still okay with you?"

"It is."

Harry smiled at that as he lifted her by the waist.

They stopped talking as they caught Madam McGonagall's disapproving eye. But as they had made no mistake, she couldn't fault them.

The rest of the day went quietly. And soon, they were leaving Vector's classroom, being done for the day. Hermione headed for the library, wanting to do some homework. The next day's night would be the Valentine's ball night and so she wouldn't be able to get anything done. Harry and Draco joined her, Ginny having tricked Padma and Mandy into helping her with the decorations.

Draco left after two hours, curious to see what his girlfriend had been up to and getting quite fed up with his history paper. Harry had stopped working soon after that, daydreaming and examining the people in the library.

Despite what he had said about the paper in the morning, he couldn't help being a bit hurt by this. Emily hadn't phoned him for a week now and he was starting to imagine things. He had tried to call her a few times already, but every time, he got her voice mail box. He had left her several messages, but she hadn't answered yet and it was worrying him… He told himself he would phone this weekend. The issue dealt with, he reported his attention to his surrounding. The library was quite deserted since it was nearly dinner time. Only the workaholic kind still haunted this place. Usually, he wouldn't be found here for the life of him, but he hadn't wanted to leave Hermione alone.

She had not spoken a word for the past hours, completely focused on her work. Biting her low lip or tapping it lightly with her pen when she was thinking hard, rubbing her left eyebrow or playing with a hair strand which had escaped from her ponytail as she read over a book for reference.

He shook his head. He definitively needed a change of scenery if he was starting to notice details like this…. He closed his book and started to pack his things. Moreover dinner was about to start, so he had a valid excuse for dragging them out of Mrs. Pince's territory.

"You're done?" he asked Hermione. "Dinner will start in ten minutes, so we should get a move on."

Hermione nodded distractedly.

"Yeah… I just have to finish this equation…."

She glared at her paper, before her face brightened as she snapped her fingers and scribbled several lines of numbers and letters. "Here, done!"

She packed her bag and followed Harry out, saluting Mrs Pince on her way out. The usually cold woman smiled at the ballerina, nodding her head in response.

Classes had been cancelled the next day, the professors having thought it would be useless to try to hold their students' attention on the day of the ball. That did not stop people from working on their own if they so wanted. Hermione and her friends spent their time out, deciding to take the day off for once. Well, more accurately, they dragged a protesting Hermione out. Cho, Cedric and Blaise, Seamus and Mandy had come with them. They took a walk in the woods, talking and laughing before going to see the grounds' keeper. This time, there weren't a lot of wounded animals there. Hagrid had took the habit of taking in every injured creature he found, no matter how dangerous and caring for them until they could be set free.

That time he only had a pair of birds, one deer and a fox, as well as his dog, Fang. Harry had found out the hard way that the beast loved to jump the visitor and cover then with drool by licking them. Since then he had been a bit more wary when entering Hagrid's home. They went back in for lunch and set up a small game tournament during the afternoon, including chess, poker, tarot, pictionnary. They continued with a game of truth and dare which ended with Ron running from Filch after being dared to kiss the man on the cheek by Draco. By this time, Harry had a hot pink "I'm a drunk flamingo" written in bold on his forehead, and had to make a tour of the school wearing one of Ginny's dress. Draco had had to go declare his undying love for Sirius on one knee. The blond had been mortified when the man had played along, acting all girly on him and hugging him, fake tears rolling down his cheeks, and a disapproving Remus looking at them, who had his face painted yellow as he had to imitate a canary. All in all every participant had undergone some modifications to their appearance.

The girls retreated to Ginny's room, having brought all their things there to get ready together for the ball, while the boys went to their room to clean themselves.

An hour before the ball, the girl having chosen to eat sandwiches in their rooms and knowing some food would be available at the party as well as drinks, were putting the finishing touches. Ginny was applying her make up while Hermione was doing Padma's hair. The former was nearly finished, only needing to put on her jewellery and some mascara.

To escape Ginny's nagging, Hermione had agreed to wear something less simple than her black dress, but she wasn't feeling really at ease in the red dress, having had her friend picked it out for her. It was ankle-length but showed too much of her cleavage in her opinion, though Padma and Ginny heavily disagreed that point. The dress was tied in the back with a criss-crossing red strand and covered with a shimmering veil which caught the light from time to time. The skirt flared slightly from her knee and she had to admit the feel of the material shifting around her leg was very nice. A thin silver chain hanged loosely around her hips. For once she was wearing her hair down and clipped with a few strasses.

Twisting the last strand of hair into the bun, she held it in place with a few more pins before showing her friend her handiwork.

"Great! thanks Hermione!"

Standing up, Padma lightly touched the bun before walking to the mirror where Ginny was finishing putting her make up on.

Taking her jewel box, Hermione clasped a small flower pendant her parents had offered her for Christmas, as well as putting on the matching earrings. With a suffering sigh, she tied her black heeled shoes, hoping she wouldn't sprain her ankle dancing with those shoes.

Finally finished, they took the lift down the hall, knowing their escort would wait for them there. Padma was going with Blaise Zabini. At first the young woman had planned to go stag, but the black-haired dancer had asked her that very afternoon, once he learnt she had no escort, being in the same case, he had said that birds of a feather flocked together and that they would spend the night laughing at people's attire.

Ron was going with his current girlfriend, a nice sixth year called Joanne. Draco was organizing a betting pool on how long they would last.

As the girls expected their boys were talking quietly, smartly dressed. Hermione smiled as Harry offered her his arm after tucking a white pink flower in her hair.

"For a talented dancer," he said with a smile.

"Talent?" said Hermione, looking at her reflection in a window. "I didn't think you would know flower language."

Harry sent her a pained grimace.

"My mother had me learn it, she's a sucker for this, drive my father crazy every time he want to buy her flowers, or to buy some for friends…"

Hermione stifled a laugh as he led her to the Great hall that had been decorated and readied for the ball. Since the party was semi-formal, he was wearing black pants with a white dress shirt, a black vest and a red tie, silvery grey tie, having asked Hermione her dress colour before.

They walked through the room, speaking with their friends before taking some lemonade and sitting down, talking lightly about people's clothes, escort…

Then Dumbledore who had come with Mme McGonagall, fuelling some rumours mills, opened the ball on a Strauss valse, joined by many couples. Harry forcefully dragged Hermione on the dance floor, barely allowing her to put her drink down. Ginny and Draco preferred to sit this one down, watching the twirling couples before them, heads close. A second valse followed and Harry and Cedric exchanged partners after a bow which was answered by a playful curtsy from their escort.

Hermione was smiling at something Cedric was saying, answering him, as she didn't have to concentrate on her footing, letting herself be swept across the room.

A twist and a madison followed, then the first salsa. Harry had got Hermione back for this one and took to making weird faces at her for the whole dance, nearly making her trip the first time.

Hermione then walked to the sides to drink a little, before being asked by Ron for a new valse. Flitwick was in charge of the music and it had been decided by the organisation committee that it would be ballroom dancing, something Hermione enjoyed far more than the wild dancing at some of Rosemerta's parties where it was more pop, techno, rock and disco music.

After a few more dances with other boys, she sat back next to Padma who was sipping on her apple juice. Hermione slumped on her chair, taking a big gulp from her glass.

"Having fun?"

The brown-haired girl nodded, a bit out of breath. Terry had danced with her a fast-beat rumba.

"Yes, I'm glad you made me come…"

Ginny and Draco who had arrived heard that and the red head put an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm so happy! You finally saw the light!"

Hermione shook her head as she sipped her drink, relishing in its coldness.

Harry joined them soon after the end of the current dance, leaving Cho to Cedric's tender care. He drank avidly what little had been left in his glass, looking with longing at Hermione's.

She rolled her eyes.

"Oh! Stop it with the puppy eyes…."

Harry only pouted, looking every part the lost puppy. Hermione only smiled, raised her glass and emptied it. All of them laughed as Harry clutched his heart.

Flitwick announced the next dance, and immediately, Harry perked up, stopping his antics. He offered his hand to Hermione.

"As compensation, May I have this dance, my lady."

"Tune down the charm, Romeo! And come on, or will miss it!" exclaimed Ginny, as Draco led her to the dance floor.

Hermione took his hand and he brought her close to him.

"Ready to rock, Hermione?"

She looked up dubiously at him.

"Will you be able to keep up?"

"Is that a challenge?"

Hermione did not like the gleam in his eyes. He had had the same when he had given Draco his dare…

"Harry James Potter! Forget about whatever you were thinking."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"But Hermione, this is an acrobatic rock music, not plain rock 'n roll."

Hermione shrieked as he launched her on the dance floor, twirling her expertly.

"Harry, don't you dare lift me with this dress!"

Harry ignored her. For all her protests she still allowed him to lead her and he once again couldn't help the admiration he felt at seeing that she had not missed a step while they were bantering. Both of them were smiling widely as Harry twirled, pushed, pulled Hermione around the floor, spotting Draco and Ginny as well as a few other couples, including Sirius and Sinistra dancing too. Most of the others had cleared the floor and were watching the ones dancing.

Harry spun Hermione in his arms, before lifting her and swinging her from his right to his left hip, then high in the air as she made a 180° turn. They resumed their steps, enjoying themselves. Finally they stopped as the music ended.

Harry gave her a cheeky grin.

"I knew there was a reason I liked dancing with you."

Hermione blushed slightly.

"Quit it, Harry, flattery won't get you anywhere…"

The rest of the night passed quickly and Hermione slumped in her bed, classes had been cancelled for the morning.

The ball was the talk of the following weeks, students gossiping about who had come with who, what couples had broken up, who had tripped on the dance floor, who had kissed who… Ginny was in the thick of it, keeping her friends updated on the latest findings of Hogwarts rumour mills.

That didn't stop the professors from working their students harder than ever. The end of the year was approaching and they were set on making the Galas a grand affair and wouldn't settle for any mistakes on stage…

Harry had seemed a bit depressed after the ball, and he finally told Hermione why during one of their runs. He had phoned Emily right after the ball, but had been a bit surprised by her behaviour.

_Eagerly, Harry grabbed his phone and dialled his girlfriend number. He had been careful of the time difference and Emily had assured him that she wouldn't be on set at that time._

_He waited for two rings when Emily answered._

_"Hello, Emily Varrington speaking."_

_"Hi, sweetheart!"_

_"Harry!"_

_Harry had been a bit puzzled at this._

_"Yes? Why you were waiting for someone else?"_

_She had chuckled._

_"Don't be silly! How are you, darling? I really miss you, even if everybody is being really nice to me here…"_

_"I really miss you too, Emi, why didn't you answer my messages, I was worried there was a problem."_

_"No, it's just that the days are really hectic, when I'm not shooting, I'm working on my lines or practicing with the other actors, or trying on costumes…"_

_"You seem really busy…"_

_"You can say that, and the journalists are being a pain! But John gave me pointers and helped me with some of them."_

_"John?"_

_"Johnathan! You must meet him, Harry! He's such a dear! He has been really helpful to me. And you know those photos really don't do him justice, he's absolutely gorgeous."_

_Harry was bit amused at that, but a bit troubled too. Emily had never been this way about a guy… Telling himself he was imagining things that __Trent__ was just a nice guy being friendly and helping a beginner around, he focused his attention back to what Emily had been saying._

_"And I told her: Darling, blue is really not your colour. I mean, could you believe the nerve of her! Trying to step in for me. She's just jealous she didn't get the role. Everyone told me she wanted to be __Megara__, but apparently, when Bill, our director, saw the videos of the selected students, he knew I was __Megara__…"_

_"Don't worry, sweetheart, she'll stop once she'll realize it isn't working…"_

_Emily laughed._

_"You're naïve, Harry, she won't stop and I know she's trying to undermine me with Bill, but Jonathan told me she wouldn't have made a good __Megara__. He told the press when she tried to shot me down, spreading rumours about me…"_

_Harry took this opportunity to bring Skeeter up._

_"Really, we're having our share of rumours here too. Can you guess Skeeter's latest article? Apparently I was seduced by evil, calculative and greedy Hermione, and you, the heartbroken angel found true love in __Trent__'s arms…"_

_Emily laughed._

_"She's getting better… But you don't need to worry, John is handsome and really nice, but he's just a good friend and a fellow actor. What did Hermione say? It must be horrible for her…"_

_"She's trying to ignore it, but I know it's hard on her. Draco is trying to see if his father can get Skeeter to stop writing those articles, but I don't think he'll manage, that woman absolutely love nothing more than ruining people's life… And these articles are not the worst; she's being harassed by a stalker…"_

_There was a moment of silent._

_"My God, how is she? Did you do something? Do you know who it is?"_

_Harry sighed._

_"No, we learnt it by accident and took her to the headmaster. He called the police and Mr. Malfoy is also lending a hand. She changed her phone number and her mail is being screened. We try to distract her as much as possible and she throwing herself in her work and practice for the Galas…"_

_"Send her my best thoughts, please…"_

_"Thanks Emily, she'll be happy to know it…"_

_"I hope she'll be alright…. On merrier subjects, do you know what happened! I couldn't believe it! I received three offers for different shootings! Apparently, John talk to his agent and said he absolutely wanted to work with me again, so I'm being considered for his next film: Silent Memories. But I also received the script of two other films…"_

_Harry smiled, though the __Trent__ part was unsettling to him…_

_"You deserve it, Emi. You're talented and you were just waiting for a chance like this…"_

_"Thanks Harry, I'm sorry, but I need to go over my lines for tomorrow… I'll phone you soon, alright?"_

_"Alright, don't overwork yourself though…. Talk to you soon, I love you."_

_"Love you too, darling."_

_She ended the call and Harry put the phone back on his bedside before slumping on his bed. He really missed her… _

They had phoned each other a few more times, but she was busy with her work and his practices and work usually made him so tired that he only wanted to lay down and sleep once he was finished with the day.

The police was still searching for Hermione's stalker, but he or she had seemed to get a bit tired with the letters as he or she now only sent one per week.

Inspector Kingsley was leading the investigation and had come to speak the ballerina. He had been gentle, since Hermione was obviously really nervous about this. Harry and Draco had also been present and had helped their friend answering the questions: When had the first letter come, how often did she receive them, by what means? During the phone calls, could she describe the voice, was it male or female? Did she know people who could resent her for any particular reason? Did she have someone in mind? Had someone she knew started to act strangely?

He then asked more questions to Harry and Draco, about what they thought about this situation. He focused more particularly on Harry as the person behind these letters seemed to obsess with the relationship between Harry and Hermione. Before leaving, he told them to keep an eye out. The profiling of the letters was starting, and for now they had narrowed it to people who had met one of them, most probably a woman, but that still to be confirmed.

Finally, it was time for winter break. Ron and Ginny were going home, as Mrs Weasley had managed to get her older children to come home too, though Ginny had bargained a lot with her mother to be able to see Draco. In the end, she was spending, half of the break with him, at his family's manor.

Padma was staying as well as Harry, since his parents were on a tour. Hermione's had decided to go on a second honeymoon as their daughter had agreed to stay at Hogwarts for once. She was relieved she wouldn't be the only one staying and had decided to use the break to work and get a head start of sort.

This was why she was on her pointes, in front of a mirror, music in the background as she worked on her turns and her jumps.

A shine of sweat was covering her body as she slowed down, bending forwards, her arm ondulating, and then rose back up, arm in second. She held the position for a minute then fell back on her feet. She had been working for three hours now and decided it was time for a break. Walking to the sides of the room, she took her water bottle and drank some, turning sharply when she heard people entering the room.

"See! I told you she would be here!"

She rolled her eyes.

"Am I that predictable?" she said with a smile for Harry.

He laughed.

"To people who know you well enough, yes."

Chuckling, Hermione put her bottle on the floor. And started to stretch, as she didn't fancy being sore for the next three days...

"So, Mr. Potter, what have you here, while you could be... what was the word... procrastinating?"

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Please Hermione, use plain old English for us, mortals, but I wanted to know if you could come with me to see Remus and Sirius. I promised them I would visit, but I really don't want to go there alone..."

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"What, scared to meet with your godfather?"

Harry nodded.

"You don't know him, Hermione, he's evil, I tell you, evil."

She flattened herself to the ground, her legs spread, wincing a bit as she stretched her back and thighs.

"You're being a baby, Harry, just let me finish my stretching and I'll come to protect you from your big bad Sirius..."

Harry did the mature thing to do. He stuck his tongue out.

"I was wrong; a baby is still too old for you to be..."

After a few final stretches, she took her things, took off her shoes, put on sock and comfy trainers, as well a sweat-shirt.

"Here! Let's tackle the monster!"

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 

Harry and Hermione found themselves comfortably seated side by side on the couch in Sirius' room, enjoying the warmth of a good fire while drinking hot tea, laughing their head off at the man's antics. Remus was smiling, shaking his head.

Hermione put down her mug and turned to Harry.

"You mean Mr. Black managed to rope your father into serenading to your mother... At 4 am..."

Harry only laughed.

"Yep, and believe me, you don't want to listen to my father singing... It's a wonder the whole region wasn't flooded by rain."

Hermione chuckled.

Sirius raised his own mug.

"To James and his singing prowess!"

"Aye" All raised their drinks and downed some.

The older man shot a glance at his friend as he looked at the two young people sitting in front of him. He liked this Hermione. She's a bit shy, but Harry had done wonder with her and she was one of them. She understood how dancing could take over you, something Emily never would. If he hadn't sworn to Remus he wouldn't interfere, he would have given the two a little… push in the right direction. After all, Emily was away for her shooting and this Trent seemed to gather quite a lot of attention. And as the saying said: Far from the eyes, far from the heart.

He shot another look at his godson as he was retelling a story to his friend, eyes alive, moving his hands with wide movements. Hermione was smiling and laughing a bit, eyes on him.

They made a nice picture, and he really thought Hermione would be good for Harry. She had a good head on her shoulder. Maybe if he… He looked at Remus who had a warning glint in his eyes. Maybe not.

Well, time would tell…

They talked for another hour before Harry and Hermione left. Remus turned towards his friend.

"Sirius, you promised, don't meddle with them."

Sirius looked like a puppy that had lost his favourite toy.

"But, Remus…"

"No, stay out of this."

The black-haired man sighed.

"Alright."

A few days passed during which Hermione and most of the graduating students worked every day on the ballet and their part for the End of the year Gala.

One night, as Harry came back from a talk with his godfather, he heard someone playing the cello. Only knowing one person possessing a cello, he quickly walked towards the room from which the music was coming. Opening silently the door, he smiled as he saw Hermione, sitting on a chair, slightly bent over her instrument. He recognised the music as an adaptive version of the Moonlight Sonata.

She had her head down and was completely focused on her play. Harry shook his head fondly as he saw her biting her low lip. As she came to the end of the piece, he started to clap, startling her out of her musical trance.

She blushed a little when she saw him standing in the door way.

"What are you doing here, Harry?"

He smiled.

"I was listening. You play well."

"Thanks, I didn't think someone would hear me."

"Why aren't you playing in your room? It must be a pain to drag your cello down here…"

She shrugged.

"Not really, I use the lifts. But I can't play in my room, as it disturbs some of the girls on the floor…"

They were silent for a moment.

"Was there something you wanted?"

Harry looked pensive.

"Well, I'd like to have a lesson, if you don't mind…"

"A lesson?"

"A cello lesson," he précised. "I've always wanted to learn how to play an instrument, and the cello is as good as any other…"

Hermione sighed.

"Why not, but be careful."

She stood up and Harry noticed she was wearing a nightgown covering blue pyjamas.

"Here, sit down and put your leg on the cello side, back straight."

She moved his legs a bit and placed his left hand on the top, thumbs behind and fingers over the strings.

"Now, you hold the bow this way, she demonstrated then handed it to him carefully. She chuckled as he tried awkwardly to mimic her hold.

"No, not like this, you look like you're holding a knife, more relaxed, no need to grip it that tightly, it won't run away…"

Once she had corrected him, she showed him a basic hand placement over the strings.

"Now, this is the C position. Now you slide the bow, a bit more downward… yes, like this."

A quivering C echoed in the room, ending very off key as Harry moved his right hand a little.

"Alright, now, a D, yes, that's it…."

After five more minutes, Harry's hands were aching and the sounds coming from the cello were sounding more like cat's howls than music.

"That's not easy…"

"What did you expect… that you would be able to play at a snap of your fingers…?"

"Well-"

She smiled.

"Move your right hand, I'll show you."

Harry obeyed but was a bit surprised as she covered his hand holding the bow with her own."

"Now, see how you move your bow… Don't try to do it, let me move it, OK?"

She was standing behind him, pressed against the back of his chair, bent heavily forwards to hold the bow.

She started to play and Harry recognized the first bars of the Godfather song.

Hermione's hand had a firm grip on his, and he couldn't help but enjoying the feel of a body pressed to his own. He was a guy after all and he hadn't seen his girlfriend for a month now. He would have had to be made of stone to remain unaffected.

Hermione's face was focused once more on her playing, though she was feeling a bit awkward from having to lean that much on Harry. She could feel the muscles in his back through the fabric, but ignored this and immersed herself in her playing. Harry sneaked amused looks at her. She was once more biting her low lips and with a roll of his eyes, he raised his right hand to free it. Unfortunately, by doing so, he broke up her concentration; she missed her finger's position. They both winced at the sound made, before laughing.

"Nice doing, Miss Granger," he said playfully, to clear the air.

She looked at him.

"What was that about?"

Harry's was now feeling a bit foolish, but ignored it.

"You should stop molesting your lip or you'll end eating it one day." He tapped lightly on said low lip, trying to tell himself this was just light banter, like they always did.

Hermione blushed a little and pulled away from him, a bit embarrassed.

"Well-I … Did you see how you have to hold the bow?"

Harry stood up carefully, handing her the bow and cello back.

"Yep, thanks for the lesson, Hermione, but I think I'll call it a night, I don't want to expose you to more of my playing."

She smirked then carried the instrument to its box and started to pack it.

"I'll got to bed too…"

A minute later they left the room and walked back to their rooms, silently.

The break passed quickly and soon they found themselves back to their classes and working their asses off…

"And step up, Down, up, down, up, down, up, down, left foot, up, down…"

Mrs. Hooch was doing the exercise at the same time.

Since Christmas break she had decide to add steps to their warm up routine, an exercise most came to dislike.

"And to the sides!"

Some panting was starting to be heard, but Hermione concentrated on the music, staying in sync with its beat.

"Pause…. Arms to the side, bend on the right, on the left, right…"

With a groan the students obeyed, most of them looking at the clock signalling the time left of this 'torture'.

Finally, to the relief of most of them, the lesson ended and after drinking a bit, they headed for McGonagall's room.

The day passed in a whirl, as usual, and soon they were in Flitwick's class, working on their expressivity.

"Now, today, we'll work on feelings. You'll work with your partner and every pair will be given a paper with an emotion on it. You'll then have to perform together and express this feeling to us. We have to be able to guess it. You'll have to modify the sequence we just learned and complete it. I leave you ten minutes, not one more. Now, come pick a paper."

Hermione motioned to Harry to go take one. He came back and handed it to her, a bit awkward. She read it quickly and looked up at him, blushing heavily.

"Love?"

"I didn't choose it…"

"But,.."

"Hermione, we can do it, alright… Now we'll go over the sequence once to be sure of it, and then once more to agree on what we're doing…"

She nodded, still blushing.

They did it quickly, then looked at each other a bit.

"So… we still have eight minutes."

Hermione was stuttering, clearly uncomfortable with the whole idea.

Harry seemed deep in thought.

"Alright, is there a love song you really like?"

Hermione took a few seconds to answer.

"Well, there are a few…"

"Think of your favourite one and close your eyes. Feel the melody and the lyrics and try to act them. Alright. You are dancing on this song with me. We don't know each other, we just met, this music started to play and its love at first sight. Close your eyes and try to picture this scene…"

Hermione nodded and did so. After a few seconds she nodded and opened her eyes.

"Alright, I can do it."

Harry smiled at her, "then let's see…"

They went over the sequence and Harry tried to play his part too. They then worked on what they could do after that…

After the ten allowed minutes, Flitwick clapped, gathering everyone's attention.

"Mesdemoiselles, Messieurs, time to show us what you came up with. Who wants to go first? Yes, Miss Chang, we're watching. For this exercise, you won't have music to back you up.

Cho and Cedric readied themselves then started to dance. It soon became obvious that they had picked Curiosity.

Other groups followed and finally, Flitwick called them.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, if you would?"

They nodded and readied themselves. Inside, Hermione was shaking, she was so embarrassed… He had a girlfriend, how could she danced as if she loved him? And how could he respond to her… She sent him a panicking look and he only smiled, a challenging gleam in his eyes. She took a deep breath. He believed in her, and she would show him that she could do it!

She made her moves languorous, always seeking his eyes and keeping eye contact for as long as possible. They danced around each other, only parting to embrace each other again, and finally, Harry swept her, spinning, as she abandoned herself in his arms, back arched, head falling backwards, one leg trailing behind. He slowed his turn and leant on her until their noses touched and their eyes were locked on each other.

Harry was breathing hard. Not only because of the dance, but also from Hermione's response. He had not thought she could dance like this… or at least, not in front of the classroom. He felt a bit uncomfortable at having enjoyed this thoroughly. Did it mean he was cheating on Emily, if he had enjoyed holding Hermione like this? He dismissed the thought. He was being completely silly. Hermione was a skilled dancer, he had known it since the start. She was just starting to show what she was made of and he had played along. They were to play lovers and they were convincing, of that he was sure… He danced like this with other ballerina before for some of his parent's shows and during lessons.

A clapping broke them from their trance as they noticed the gob smacked looks on a few faces as well as the stormy expression of several girls.

Flitwick was beaming.

"Excellent! M. Potter, I must commend you on the progress of Miss Granger. I assume you picked the Love paper… Lovely, absolutely lovely. Now Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley."

As Hermione walked with Harry back to the sides, she had a hard trying to fight the heavy flush rising up her face as she realised what she had just done…

"And they say they're only friends! Did you see how they looked at each other?" she heard someone whisper in her back.

"I heard she was the reason why Harry and his girlfriend broke up."

"Did you read that article… Maybe it was true…"

Hermione, covered her face, she was never going to live this done…

Harry put a hand on her shoulder.

"You were fantastic, Hermione."

Ron nodded.

"Yes, for a moment, you nearly had me going…" said the red-head, looking back on his sister who was performing with her partner and boyfriend. Apparently they had picked the Jealousy paper…

"Nice right hook Gin," he muttered.

Hermione didn't really know what to do with herself. She didn't miss Lavender and Parvati's angry looks, nor the muttering of several ballerinas.

Why did they have to pick this paper, and why did she always have to prove herself to Harry. Why couldn't she allow herself to disappoint him by not dancing this to the best of her abilities.

She tried to forget about this and focus on her peers. Ginny and Draco had been brilliant, as usual. Finally, to her relief, the lesson was over and she escaped the room quickly, not waiting for her friends and heading straight for her room.

She worked on a few of her assignment and phoned a friend to talk for a bit.

Finally as dinner was about to be served, she headed for the Great Hall and went to sit next to the others who were already seated.

They shot her curious looks.

"Why did you ran out like this. I knew Sprout cancelled her class, but I didn't think you needed to go to the library that badly…" joked Ron.

"I went to my room. I had some work to do."

Seeing they wouldn't get anything from her when she was like this, her friends let it go and rose to their feet to take their turn at the self.

Once they were seated once more, they talked about the coming Galas. Soon, however, Ron and Draco were involved in a heated debate over two soccer teams, watched amusedly by Padma, Ginny and the others next to them. Harry took this opportunity to lean on Hermione.

"Hermione, you weren't embarrassed about Flitwick's class."

She shook her head quickly.

"No, no, of course not… I just had a lot of work and I really needed to take a shower…"

"You're sure?"

Hermione sent him - at least what she hoped was – a reassuring smile.

"Yes, besides, Flitwick seemed quite happy with our performance…"

Harry laughed quietly.

"Indeed, I thought he was going to bounce to the ceiling."

Hermione smiled back before returning her attention to her salad.

This night she had a harder time finding sleep.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 

The next day, as Hermione walked to her usual place in the Great Hall, after having taken her tray and filled it with her usual breakfast, she heard whispers starting in her back.

"Yes, that's her, didn't you read the article in Gossip. And I heard she's also been sleeping with that Bulgarian boy, you know the one from the casting, just so that she would get the role…"

"That's disgusting… Are you sure?"

"How do you explain her getting this role otherwise. One of my sister's friends told me she had never been chosen for lead before… And you don't go from nobody to lead like this…"

Hermione felt ill as she heard this.

Keeping her head high, she keep on walking to her seat and sat down, drinking her orange juice as usual. She kept looking at the door, praying her friends would come soon as she could feel eyes on her.

Finally Harry, Draco and Ron entered and took their turn at the self, piling food on their tray. Boys and their stomachs…

They sat down, Draco next to her, Harry in front and Ron to his side.

Ginny, Padma and Mandy joined then soon after that and were apparently discussing a new perfume.

Two girls passed them, whispering.

"And do you know what else I heard? Apparently she cheated during the last tests… I was told she managed to steal the test paper from Sprout and Vector…"

"No… and here I thought she was really intelligent."

The brunette shrugged.

"What can you expect from someone who only befriend people to use them?"

"That's not what Ginny is saying…"

Her friends dismissed the point from a flick of her hand.

"Ginny doesn't see who she truly is…."

Hermione had paled and was shooting hesitant looks at her friends.

They had all stopped speaking as they listened to the two girls who seemed unaware of their audience. Ron had his fist clenched and his knuckles white.

Ginny had a murderous glint in her eyes and Draco had draped his arm around her shoulders, his eyes cold and calculating.

"Hermione? Since when are those rumours running around."

The ballerina sighed.

"I only heard those and another about how I supposedly slept with Viktor to get the role in Phoenixia."

Mandy gasped.

"That's disgusting, who would spread things like this!"

Hermione shrugged.

"No idea, there was a few at the beginning of the year, but I always thought that ignoring them was the best thing to do…"

Ginny and Draco exchanged a look, one eyebrow raised, but Hermione paid them no heed. She didn't care about those gossipers, as long as those she called friends believed in her.

With this comforting thought, she finished her breakfast and waited for the others to do so. Standing up and gathering her things, she held her head high, ignoring the looks sent her way and walked with her friends to put their tray away and to their first class: Snape.

They had showed her she could be more than a wall flower. It was her turn to show them she could hold her own.


	8. Life happens

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize.

A/N:Thanks to all of those who reviewed this story. This is the unbetaed version of thiss chapter. I'll put the corrected one as soon as I get it from my beta. So I apologize in advance for the many grammar, syntaxe and spelling mistakes you are bound to find.

I hope you'll enjoy that chapter never the less.

Naia

Chapter Eight: 

A few weeks passed. Though the rumors had not died down, the students were finding themselves so busy with rehearsals, tutoring, reviewing and practices that they had little time to spare for gossiping. Hermione ignored the looks she was getting from fellow ballerinas as well as the whispers she could hear during meals. She paid them no heed, concentrating on her work and determined on proving those idiots she had deserved her place in Phoenixia. She was working as much as she could, squeezing practice time wherever she could in her already quite impressive schedule.

Finally Harry took her aside, as he found her working after Flitwick lesson, as they had no class for the end of the afternoon since Mrs Sprout had left for week for family reasons. Seeing the bags under her eyes she had not managed to hide with make up, he had known they had to talk.

"Hermione, what do you think you are doing to yourself! You can barely stand!"

The young woman rolled her eyes.

"You're dramatizing the whole thing, Harry! I'm fine! A bit tired, alright, but nothing more!"

Harry shook his head.

"What are you trying to do? Work yourself to an early grave!"

"I need to work! I'm not gifted like you! How else will I prove I deserve my role?"

Harry sighed.

"It all comes down to this, doesn't it? What do you have to prove, Hermione? You are an amazing dancer. The teachers say so, your friends say so. Why do you listen to the venom of some petty, jealous people."

Hermione sat down on the floor.

"It's not that easy to ignore when half the school think of you as a whore, Harry? Do you know I heard second years say that!"

Harry sat next to her, placing his arm around her shoulders.

"You deserved that role, Hermione. If you are that insecure, go ask Dumbledore or McGonagall. You can be sure they would have never assigned a role to someone if they didn't think him or her fit to perform. Hogwarts has a reputation to uphold after all."

Hermione sent him a half-convinced, half-doubtful glance.

"Are you saying that to make me feel better, or because you really think so?"

Harry squeezed her shoulder, smiling.

"You are a brilliant dancer, Hermione and you are going to stun them all, but only if you are on stage and not confined to an hospital bed..."

The young ballerina sighed.

"Alright, you win..."

Harry shot her a relieved look. He would never tell her how much he and the others had been worried about her.

"Very good, now we're going to take a break... I heard Ginny and Draco were going to the swimming pool, fancy a go?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Alright, let's go..."

They found their friends lounging on the pool's side... As it was still cold outside, the pool was not opened and so it was quite hot inside...

Hermione groaned as she caught sight of the pink and violet cover of the magazine Ginny was reading.

"Harry! You have to read this!"

The young man sighed.

"Ginny, you know I couldn't care less about Skeeter's new 'revelations'. She couldn't write a truthful fact even if it bit her in the ass."

"For once she didn't write a thing about Hermione. But there are at least six pages dedicated to what she calls the "Hollywood love story" between Emily and Jonathan Trent."

Frowning, Harry took the magazine and started to read, skimming quickly through the article.

He trusted Emily, but this was going a bit too far for simple acting.

"_Emily is an amazing young woman. I've never met a girl that telented and that beautiful… It is a real delight to play with her for this film."_

"_For a girl that pretty, she has managed to find her own style and doesn't limit herself to playing the silent beauty queen. She's intelligent, witty with a strong character and talent."_

Harry gritted his teeth. That was a bit much for people who claimed to be 'just friends'. The photos didn't help: One showed them dining together at a restaurant, another showed them walking down a street hand in hand, a third pictured Jonathan handing Emily a flower, both of them smiling…

Slightly crumpling the magazine as he tightened his fist, he stalked out of the swimming pool. Getting changed quickly, he hurried to his room, dialing Emily's number on his cell on the way.

She wasn't there since he only heard her vocal box.

"HI! As you can hear, I'm not available for the moment. Leave me a message or call back later. Harry, if it's you, I'll call you tonight. I know you must be angry, but I swear I've got an explanation, darling. Love you and I call you tonight."

Harry shut off his phone and sighed, a bit relieved. He had jumped to conclusions way too quickly. The evening couldn't come quickly enough for him

He had been sitting in his room for an hour now, mulling over Skeeter's article when his cell rang. Quickly he answered, hoping it would be Emily.

"Hello, Darling!"

"Hello to you to, sweetheart; it's good to hear from you…"

"I know, I'm really sorry I didn't call you sooner but the shooting is getting more and more hecting here, with it coming to an end in a few weeks… But Davy, the producer and Joe, the realisator are angels, Johnathan is a real help too."

Harry sighed.

"Yes, and talking of Trent, I think I deserve some explications, Emily. You know I really support you in your career choice. I would never prevent you from doing what you have to do for your plays, even if it means to pretend you love someone else. But I think this is going a bit too far with Trent."

"Harry," Emily sounded a bit weary, "Johnathan is a great guy. He's sweet, intelligent, handsome and a real support, but you know I'm with you, right?"

"Then why all of this! Dining, hand holding… This is not acting, Emily!"

"Darling, this is movies! This is a world of illusion. You know me and Johnathan are the main roles in this film and that we are romantically involved in the story. What better way to promote the film and to have people talk about it that a love story between the two main characters?"

Harry was stunned.

"So, it's just promotion, just playing!"

"Yes, Davy talked to me about it and Johnathan says it's a common way to go about it."

"But what about us, Emily? What happens when you're finished shooting and doing your post production?"

"Well there will be the premiere and the promotion to do… Johnathan and I will play the happy couple for the camera."

"And after I'll be the bad ex-boyfriend who will break the lovely couple and take back his girl. I really don't understand how you can play with us like this, Emily!" The bitterness in Harry's tone was palpable.

"Harry! Don't be silly, it won't be like that! People will forget it quickly. It's just for a few months, that's all! By the way, the premiere will take place in New York, on June, the 16th. You'll come, won't you?"

"Emily, you know very well that this is the date of our last rehearsal for the gala, I gave you all our dates for rehearsals and for the shows three months ago."

Emily laughed a bit.

"You don't need to rehearse, Harry, you're too good to need to rehearse all that much. I'm sure you can skip this rehearsal and come to the premiere… Don't you want to see me?"

Harry frowned.

"Emily, it's not about me, it's about the group and my friends here. I can't let them down like this. How are they going to work if I'm not there? It's not an individual performance, it's a ballet. It's everyone or nobody."

There was a small silence.

"Harry, I don't see why you get so worked up, just because I ask you to skip a rehearsal you don't need to come and see my first film."

"Can't you see I have obligations here, Emily. The ballet…"

"The ballet, the ballet, the ballet. You're talking of nothing else! It's always about ballet, about rehearsal. You're always working, practicing, rehearsing. This is all you care for. Sometimes, I wonder what you love the most, your stupid ballet or me!" She took a deep breath. "Why can't you understand why I'm doing this publicity stunt with John then? It's the same thing! I do what I need for the film, you do what you have to do for your ballet!"

Harry gathered his thoughts at that retort.

"We talked of that before, and you said you would accept the dedication I have for ballet if I accepted what you needed to do for your acting. And no, it's not the same, Emily. You are playing with us, here. It's not a simple publicity stunt."

"Harry!"

"Have you thought of what will happen once we get back together, of what people will say. I don't care a lot about their opinion, I'm a dancer, I'm not as mediatized as you will be. What then? Do you think we will be able to go back to what we had before that!"

"Of course, we will! Nothing changed Harry! I love you! John is just a friend. A good friend, that's all!"

"Yes, I gathered as much…"

"Are you jealous?"

"Maybe I am! Do I mean so little to you that you don't hesitate to discard me for a few months so you can promote your film?"

Emily took a deep breath.

"Look, Harry. I need to do this for my future. This is the chance of my life. This is what I need to pierce in Hollywood. Do you know how many girls would kill to be at my place. I have received at least four offers for other films, all of them for main characters, not unimportant wallpaper roles. If I have to pretend to be John's lover for that, I will."

Harry closed his eyes, torn at what Emily was saying.

"Emily, how would you feel if I told you I have to pretend to go out with Hermione to promote our gala?"

"You better not! It's completely different!"

"And how is it different?"

"Ballets don't need promotion! You have already a public. You are already known, Harry! You don't need to put yourself on display with her! True, she seems nice and all, but come on! She's shy, without you, she would have remained in the shadows."

"Do you listen to yourself, Emily! Not a week ago you were asking for news about her and tonight you're bashing her!"

"If she's going to come between us…."

"And what should I say when apparently Trent comes between us?"

"Harry, you're imagining things…" Emily sounded extremely annoyed.

"So I should smile and wait for you… And then, what's next?" Harry knew he was letting his temper get the better of him, but he couldn't help it.

Emily seemed to sense it.

"Listen, I'll call you again tomorrow when we'll both have a clear head about this, alright. Think of what I said, I'm sure you'll see my point."

Harry sighed.

"Didn't you listen to a thing I said, Emy?"

"Good night, Harry, I'll call tonight, around 9 pm."

"Alright."

He shut off the phone, and slumped on his bed.

Sleep was hard to find that night.

The next day passed in a blur. He had a hard time concentrating in classes, but managed to perform correctly in dancing classes. His parents had always stressed the importance of leaving personnal problems out of the dance studios. He didn't think he managed to fool his friends however. He could see they wanted to ask what was going on with him, but restrained themselves. Hermione, in particular, had looked like she wanted to speak with him, but had stopped herself from doing so.

Finally he heard his cell ring and immediately answered.

"Emy?"

"Harry."

"How are you?"

"Fine… Listen, we really need to settle this once for all."

"Go on."

"I'm tired of coming after your ballet, Harry. I know dancing is important for you, but I don't know if I'll be able to accept the fact you'll spend two third of your days locked in a studio."

"Emy."

"No, listen. I know you've accepted a lot of thing for me and I know I was very lucky to have had you for me. I don't think a lot of guys would have been that patient and open-minded. But I'm not like you Harry, I want to come first and you can't understand that."

"Emy, I'm sure we could work it out…"

"No, I don't think we will, Harry. My uncle warned me when we got together that your first love would always be ballet and I thought I would be able to live with it, but I can't, not anymore…"

"So we're breaking up? That's it, we forget all about the two years we spent together? Doesn't it mean something for you?"

"Harry, Please, try to understand…"

Harry swallowed with difficulty, blinking quickly to clear his eyes.

"I do try, Emily. Just one question. Did Trent had a part in this decision?"

Emily seemed to hesitate.

"Honestly? Yes, he had. He is like me Harry, he understands thing you can't… I talked to him about our problem and he told me it was common with actors. The problem was even more difficult for us, he said since we both were involved in professions that asked a lot of involvment and left little for personnal life…"

"I can't believe you talk to him about this!"

Harry was definitively irked by this.

"Don't be stupid."

"I'm…"

"Harry, we both need some time appart. I do hope we'll stay friends, but I can understand it is difficult for you…"

"I need some time, Emily…"

"We both need some… Good bye, Harry…"

Before he could say something, she had cut the communication. Tears in his eyes, he shut off his phone, taking his head in his hands.

"Great, just great…" he muttered. Deciding, he didn't want to think about this for the night, he took some sleeping pills and went to bed.

The morning came a bit too soon to his liking and he changed slowly to go for his morning jog.

Hermione was already warming up, waiting for him.

Silently, he nodded in greeting and started to stretch before they both starting their first lap around the lake and a leisure pace.

"Are you ill, Harry?" finally asked Hermione, worried to see the pale face of her friend.

"No… it's just…" Harry hesitated, not knowing if he should talk to the ballerina about his love problems. Deciding Hermione wouldn't think less of him, he spoke up again.

"Emily and I had some heated words two days ago. She called me yesterday evening."

"And?"

"We broke up."

Hermione shot him a sympathizing look.

"How are you holding up?"

"OK, I think…" Harry shrugged.

"Did she told you why?"

"She was tired of coming always second to ballet… and said I couldn't accept some of what she had to do."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It's easy to shift all the blame on you."

"Do you really think so, I could have tried harder…"

Hermione held up her hand, cutting him.

"Harry, why should you have had to do everything. She had to meet you halfway if you wanted this to work… You've got little to blame yourself for. Emily wants to look for her career, she made a choice."

Harry raked a hand in his hair.

"It's not that easy… maybe if…"

Hermione cut him.

"You could redo the world with "if". What is done is done."

Harry sighed.

"You're probably right, but I can't shake the feeling that I could have done more… We had managed to stay together for two years, we could have worked past this, I know we could have."

Hermione bit her lip.

"Do you want to know what I really think of this, Harry?"

The young man looked at her, a bit bewildered.

"No offence to you or Emily, but given what I know of both of you, I don't think you two would have managed to stay together for much more longer."

Harry had an annoyed glint in his eyes.

"What makes you say that?" his tone was a bit terse, but he didn't like what Hermione had just said.

"She would have never really understood you. We both know what dancing is to us, but only dancers or people working closely with dancers can really understand the dedication a dancer shows to his practice and the amount of work performing on stage involves. Only them can have an inkling of what it represents in terms of stress, pressure, time and fatigue."

She paused for a few seconds.

"Emily would have never understood this part of you, and in the end both of your passions would have created barriers between you."

Harry shot her a surprised look.

"You thought a lot about this, didn't you?"

Hermione flushed a little.

"Well, you can't blame a girl for dreaming about Prince charming. But I always knew he, whoever he might be, would have to understand that dancing is my life. But, it doesn't matter, it doesn't look like Mr. Right is going to come any day now."

Harry frowned.

"What about Viktor?"

Hermione blushed a little.

"Viktor is a nice guy… but we both live in different countries and long distance relationships rarely work. We are good friends. We write and call each other often. There is no bad blood between us, at least, not for me."

"Alright. He's a nice guy, you know."

Hermione smiled at him.

"I do, and don't you dare play matchmaker for me, Harry Potter!"

Smiling back at her, Harry reported his attention on the path, mulling over what they had just discussed. They finished their jog quietly, stretched before going back to the castle.

For the following weeks, Harry was feeling a bit down, and so, it was with relief that he saw the Easter break arrive. They had agreed to spend one week at his home and the other one at Draco's home. Both his parents had been happy to host his friends as had been Draco's parents, though Harry thought that that particualr agreement had took a lot of arguments between parents and son. Harry had warned his friends that his parents' troupe would probably be at their home since they were taking a break from their tour before going away again for a month.

On Tuesday morning, everyone heard a scream coming from the girls' changing room, just before McGonagall's class. Frowning, Harry watched as the professor hurried towards the rooms as a girl ran to her.

She came back a few minutes later.

"The lesson is cancelled. Mr. Diggory, please go fetch the Headmaster, promptly."

Now, definitively worried, Harry frowned as Padma all but ran to them. She was pale.

"What is going on, Padma? Where are Ginny and Hermione?" asked Draco who seemed as worried as he was.

"Ginny is comforting Hermione. She wasn't the one who screamed, but she's really shaken."

"Who screamed?" enquired Ron.

" Kelly, she was near Hermione when she opened her locker." Padma swallowed nervously. "Someone thought it funny to booby-trap her locker so that as soon as she opened it a reducted plastic head jumped to her face while a red paint balloon exploded, spraying her. There was a small note, with the same kind of things she got in her letters."

Harry gritted his teeth.

"Can we see them?"

Padma shrugged.

"Don't see why not? It's not like any of the girls are now changing."

Harry saw Dumbledore enter the classroom and McGonagall walk to him, explaining the situation in hushed words.

Motioning to the other to come along, they entered the girls' chinaging room. There was a huge red splash of pain on the ground and the wall, Kelly was being comforted by a few of her friends while Ginny had an arm around Hermione shoulders and was talking quietly to her. Hermione's face was pale and she was shivering a bit.

"Miss Granger, Miss Lorsen, do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

Hermione shook her head.

"No, thank you, Headmaster, I just need some time to calm myself…"

Kelly nodded and her three friends helped her out and down to Mrs Pomfrey's ward.

Dumbledore approached Hermione's locker, face grave.

"You will get another locker and it be closed by a code and a key. I'll go notify the police immediately. Inspector Kingsley will probably want to ask you a few questions after they search this room for clues and prints…"

Hermione nodded her agreement.

"Other letters were sent to you, but as I told you , your mail is being screened and they were immediately sent to the police. Do you need to be excused from your classes for the day? I'm sure your teachers will understand the situation…"

Hermione got up, helped by Ginny.

"It won't be needed, Headmaster. I don't want to miss classes this close to the galas…"

The old man smiled gently at her.

"As you wish, but I insist you go see Mrs Pomfrey if you start not feeling well."

Seeing Hermione nod, Dumbledore and McGonagall gave her a few more words before leaving for the headmaster's office.

Harry came to Hermione's side.

"Are sure, you're alright?"

She tried to smiled reassuringly, but the smile was a bit shaky and her pallor did nothing to relieve her friends' worry.

"I'll be better after drinking a strong cup of tea."

For the rest of the day, Hermione tried to ignore the eyes on her and the worried glances her friends exchanged. Harry went to see his godfather and Remus at the end of the day, having walked Hermione from the Headmaster's office where both of them, as well as a few other girls had been interviewed by Inspector Kingsley, Tonks and Moody.

He knocked on the door of Remus' rooms and entered, finding Sirius pacing in the living room, ranting about something James had apparently told him not that long ago.

"Good to see you, Harry; how is Hermione?" asked Remus.

"She must sleeping by now, Pomfrey gave her something for tonight. I really hope they catch the one stalking her… it's starting to get out of end." He sat on a chair. "I feel a bit responsible… This stalker seems to be obsessed with a supposed relationship between her and me." He shook his head in disbelief.

"And there isn't?"

Harry frowned at his godfather.

"No, what made you think so? You haven't been believing Skeeter's writing, have you?"

Sirius snorted.

"Give me a little credit, Harry. But I learnt you and Emily had broken up and…"

Harry nodded bitterly.

"Yes, we did, news seem to travel quickly here…"

The man patted awkardly his godson on the back.

"She didn't deserve you, pup."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Sirius, I'm not six anymore! I don't know why you are so keen on using that nick name… As for Emily and me, well…"

"Well indeed," said Sirius.

"But, there is nothing going on with Hermione. She's a great dancer and a great friend, nothing more. Anyway, I wouldn't date so soon after breaking up. I don't want to use a girl as a rebound, that would not be fair…"

Sirius shook his head.

"Sometimes, you're way too serious, Harry."

Remus snorted.

"Given the fact you tend to act as a teen, Sirius, Harry better be mature, since he can't count on you as a role model."

Smiling discretly, Harry watched as the two old friends started to banter good-naturally. An hour later, he left and went to sleep, a part of him still worried over what was happening to Hermione.

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The end of the week came to everyone's relief and with it the two-week long Easter break. The locker incident had been the talk of the school for the rest of the week, much to Hermione's discomfort.

They all took the train, having all received the agreement from their family to spent the break in Harry's and Draco's houses.

The trip went smoothly. Ginny and Draco had left at one point and every one had a pretty good idea that a good snogging session had been on the way somewhere on the train. The four left had played cards for a bit, then Hermione had took out a book, Padma, a magazine and Ron had managed to rope Harry in a chess game that the young black-haired man lost spectacularly.

They finally arrived to King's Cross Station and boarded off the train. They were gathering their baggage as Harry looked around for his parents. He finally spotted them standing a bit on the right and waved to them before signalling to his friends to come along.

Once the presentation were over, not that it was long, since his parents had already met most of them, they headed towards the cars waiting for them. Padma, Harry and Hermione went with James Potter, while Draco, Ron and Ginny went with Lily.

"So, how are you all?"

"Alright dad, the galas are closing on us, but I think we'll be fine…" answered Harry, shrugging.

"Yes, Sirius phoned me a few times, even if it was to rant a few times, but he seemed to be satisfied of what you're doing. I must say Lily and I are eager to watch you on stage… I had Antonio on the phone as well as Bea a few weeks ago, they are sending representatives for your rendition of Phoenixia. You better make us proud, Harry."

The young dancer rolled his eyes.

"Are the others home too?"

"Yes, well Dominic was called home yesterday, his brother is getting married tomorrow."

"Good…"

James shot a look at his son but thought better and reported his attention on the road. Hermione was looking out of the window. Harry's house was situated about an hour from London in the country. The ride was quiet and soon they arrived. Hermione stared at the house, well, no, the mansion. It was huge!

The two cars drove in after checking at the entrance and parked before the entrance.

Harry bolted out of the car and ran inside the house.

"Harry! Your luggage!"

James rolled his eyes and turned to Hermione and Padma who were starring at the running Harry.

"I told him I would care for them."

"You know he trusts nobody with them, James…" laughed his wife, while ushering their guest inside. Taking his son's bags, James signalled to the two girls to follow.

"Alright, the building on the side is the studios. If you want to work, you can go there, there are also a few rooms on the third floor if you want to practice."

He pointed towards the right side.

"You rooms are on the first floors, we will show you to them now, so you can put your things away. Dinner will be served at 7."

They all nodded, but Ron voiced the question that was on all their minds.

"Mrs Potter, Mr Potter, where did Harry run off to?"

Lily Potter smiled.

"Leave your bags here, James, go get your friends and carry those upstairs will you?"

James sighed, mocked-hurt.

"As if I could say no!"

Bowing good naturally, he walked to a small interphone and started to talk quietly as Lily led the youth to another room.

Hermione nearly had an heart-attack as she saw Harry sitting on a bench, a small dark-brown-black snake coiled around his arm, a large python wrapped around his shoulders and neck, a third red, yellow and black one on the other arm, there were a few others coiled in vivariums…

Ginny had gasped and Padma had backed away, as well as Ron who had yelped and jumped back. Draco however was smiling widely.

"Cool! Is it a real coral snake!"

Harry looked up from his python.

"Yes, I got it for my birthday two years ago… Do you want to hold her?"

"Of course!" The blond walked to his friend and took the snake from him, handling it with care, letting the reptile smell him with his forked tongue.

"Do you have snakes too?"

"A small coral snake too."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Harry is positively smitten with those things. He would have taken them to Hogwarts if the school rules hadn't forbidden them."

Harry stuck his tongue at his mom while turning toward his friends.

"Do you want to hold them?"

Padma, Ron and Ginny immediately took three steps backwards.

"N-No, thanks, Harry, but snakes and I really don't see eye to eye."

Harry shrugged.

"Hermione? Come on, just touch my python, I swear he's really nice."

Hesitantly, the young woman approached him and extended a tentative hand towards the scaly body.

"Go on, this one is just a lazy peacock..."

Not really reassured, Hermione graced the scales with the tip of her fingers, barely getting a reaction from the snake, she grew a bit more bold and caressed it.

"You see? Nothing to worry."

"Harry?" Harry looked to his mother. "Now that you're reassured as far as your pets' health is concerned, can we go show your friends their rooms? I don't think all of them share your passion of snakes..."

Smiling she watched as her son placed back his snakes in their boxes, asking Draco to take care of the snake he was petting gently. He even asked Hermione to help with the python.

She ushered the youths upstairs.

"Alright, you'll be two per rooms, just choose who goes with who? I'd prefer it to be boy-boy and girl-girl if you don't mind. I don't want to have to announce news to your parents... Harry you can take your room on this floor, this means one of the girl will have a room to herself... Your bags should be in this corner." She pointed to her right, and indeed, they could see a pile of suitcases and bags. "I'll let you settle down, see you for dinner."

She walked back to the stairs, leaving the six friends behind.

Harry clapped his hand.

"Alright, my room is the third one on the right, there are three spare rooms. By the way one of you girls is going to take a room alone."

Hermione, Padma and Ginny glanced at each other, shrugging.

"I don't care," said Hermione, "you decide…"

Ginny seemed to ponder for a few seconds on this problem before smirking teasingly.

"If you don't mind sharing with me, Padma, I'll prefer to have Hermione in the alone room…" Shee looked to her friend. "No offense, Hermione, but if my memory serves me right, you love to read in the evening and I can't sleep with a light…"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I'm not that bad."

"Say the girl who took fifteen or so books for a two-week vacation," countered Padma.

Harry waved his hand.

"Back to the situation at hand, Hermione you should take the room next to mine, it's a bit smaller than the others. Ginny and Padma, you can take the room in front of Hermione's, and Draco, you and Ron will stay in the one in front of mine. The bathroom is at the end of the corridor, on your right, you can lock it from the inside. There is two other bathrooms on the second and third floor."

They nodded and started to drag their bags towards their bedroom. Hermione liked hers. It was only slightly smaller than her room at Hogwarts, with a light blue and white wallpaper. There was a large window with white curtains. A bed, a dresser, a wardrobe, a table and a chair completed the furniture. A large rug was spread at the foot of the bed.

Placing her suitcase on the bed after putting her two other bags aside, she unpacked everything. Looking at the alarmclock on her bedside, she saw it was nearly time for dinner.

She left her room and saw Ron and Draco closing their door behind them. A minute later, Harry was here and they waited for Ginny and Padma. As the Grandmother clock struck 7 pm, she went to knock at the girls's door.

"Ginny, Padma, it's time for dinner!"

"We just need a few minutes…" answered the muffled voice of Ginny.

"Girls, we're going to be late, you'll be able to finish later!"

The door opened shortly after that.

"You're right," said Ginny, dragging Padma behind and closing the door, leaving just enough time for Hermione to see that the room could now only be described as a war zone.

They headed down, chatting, though Hermione was feeling a bit nervous at the idea of meeting the Potter's company.

They entered a large dining-room, brightly lit, where about twenty or so adults were talking animatedly.

"Ah! At last! We thought we'd have to start without you!" joked James.

Harry chuckled and took his seat next to his mother, then Ron, Ginny in front of Ron, Draco and Hermione in front of Harry and next to a woman who introduced herself as Hestia Jones. The dinner went smoothly, the youths planning what they were going to do for the week, while the adult talked of their coming tour. Hermione turned to Harry.

"Is there somewhere we can go run in the mornings?"

Harry nodded with a smile.

"Yes, wait for me in the Hall, tomorrow, I'll show you."

Lily smiled.

"So you're also an adept of morning jog, Hermione?"

The ballerina nodded, flushing a little.

"Yes, Mrs Potter, it's a good way to keep in shape."

"Call me Lily, Mrs Potter makes me sound way too old."

Hermione nodded and went back to eating. All of them decided to call it an early night as the adult started to leave the room some going watch a movie, other to their bedroom, some even going out for a bit. Harry wanted to talk to his parents and so stayed behind, waving his friends good night.

Lily, James and Harry went to the kitchen , where they sat, drinking some tea.

"It's good to be home," said Harry, cracking his neck. "I really neded a break..."

Lily shot a saddened glance at her son.

"We're sorry about that Harry. Armand told us and he's also sorry that this didn't work out."

Harry shrugged. He couldn't say he was over Emily. It was too soon after two years of dating to think it was over.

"Life happens, that's all..."

"Probably," said James, "Was there a particular reason? Was it those articles?"

Harry shrugged again.

"I know the trigger point was the tiff we had over the fact she was asked to pretend to be Trent's girlfriend for the film's promotion and agreed to do it."

Lily's eyebrows shot in the air.

"She did?"

"Yes... I don't think she realizes how bad it's going to be for me and Hermione if the rumours about her liaison with Trent are confirmed," sighed Harry.

"Skeeter is still being her charming self, I suppose?" ironised James.

"That she is. Add to that Hermione's harrasser or someone else found it fun to trap her locker and is still sending her letters, you can see why we all needed a break."

"Poor girl, she really doesn't need something like this..."

"I don't understand why either. She's nice, helpful, still her shy self from time to time. However this stalker seems to think of her as a dangerous and devious seducing woman who broke Emily and I..."

Lily and James looked at each other.

"I'm sure the police will find the culprit, Harry. I hope this will not mine your efforts for the Galas."

"I don't think so... the teachers and Dumbledore are strict on that point, whatever problems we have out of stage and class stay out."

James smiled.

"This is true Dumbledore... Well, I'm going to call this a night, you should too, darling, we're rehearsing tomorrow, don't you forget about that."

Lily laughed and went to put her mug in the dishwasher, followed by her husband and her son.

"Good night, mum, dad."

"Sweet dreams to you, Harry," said Lily.

Quietly, the young man walked back to his room and went to sleep quickly.

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The next morning, Harry and Hermione met Ron on their way back from their jog. Both of them were sweaty and panting a little. They greeted their friends before going straight for a shower.

Twenty minutes later they joined their friends for breakfast, rolling their eyes as Ginny mocked their habit.

"I swear, you're both as nut as the other. You're probably the only students of Hogwarts they wake up that early to go running."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Given a choice between that and the diet most of the girls are following, I'll take running anytime. Not everyone has a quick metabolism like you."

Ginny smirked.

"This is the perks of good genetics, isn't it Ron?"

The red-head looked up from the food he was now inhaling and nodded, before going back to eating.

"So what are we going to do?"

All of them shrugged.

"Well, we could get rid of our homework and practice, since I don't think we'll have dance rooms at Draco's."

Draco nodded.

"We have a ball room and a few empty others, but nothing really built for practice like here."

Ginny put her head in her hands.

"Hermione, the holidays are meant to relax and have some fun."

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you must practice a bit, otherwise you'll be rusty... And as Phoenixia's lead, you can't afford that..."

Ginny knew she was fighting a lost cause.

"Alright, we'll compromise. We'll work on the mornings, and only the mornings," she said, pointing a threatening finger at Hermione.

The brown-haired ballerina extended her hand.

"Deal."

Once Ginny had shook her hand, Hermione shot her a big smile.

"Good, what do you want to work on for this morning?"

Ron groaned at that.

Finally after a few minutes or debating over what they were going to do, they headed out and walked to the building which apparently was used by the Potters to practice with their troupe when they weren't on tour.

Harry led them in and showed them to the changing rooms. Spotting other clothes hung around, Hermione realized that the Phoenixes were probably practicing as well and couldn't suppress a thread of doubt from worming into her mind. Deciding that there was enough rooms for them not to have to practice with Harry's parents, she changed into her thights and leotard, putting on a sweat shirt not to catch a cold. Lacing her shoes carefully, having bandaged her toes first to try to spare them as much as possible from the usual abuse they had to bear most of the time.

Chatting quietly, the three girls exiting the changing room and met with the three boys who were already ready and waiting for them.

"At last, we'll have to use the smaller room on the ground-floor, my parents are using the main one upstairs. We'll be able to use it before noon, I think."

Harry walked down the corridor and then on his right, his friends on his heels, and opened a door, motionning them in.

The room was slightly bigger than the one they used at Hogwarts.

"You want to work on Phoenixia?"

Ron threw up his hands.

"Why not! At least this will be one thing less to worry when we'll be back in school…"

Ginny nodded.

"Yes, but we need to stretch first and warm up. Now is really not the time to get an injury."

Ron rolled his eyes but started on their usual school routine. Forty minutes later, they were ready to work on the ballet.

Ron and Padma took one side of the room to practice their roles together, leaving the other side for the four others.

As usual, Harry and Ginny worked together, Hermione and Draco doing the same thing. Once they had gone through one part, they would exchange partners and go over it again. Harry had a easier time than his three friends, having learnt parts of this ballet with his parents or learnt them by watching them practice. For now, both Hermione and Ginny were having problems with a complicated sequence of turns. He watched as Hermione tried it once more. Tour enveloppé (wrapped turn), four times, a two turn détour, jeté tourné and pirouette. Once more she lost her footing at the first turn of the pirouette, and stopped, while she should have make it a triple one at least to finish with a flourished fall.

"Girls, let's put the music and go through the whole thing, maybe it'll help. Ron, Padma, we'll go other the parts we have all learnt so far."

They all nodded and Harry put Phoenixia's CD on, selecting the tracks corresponding to the parts they had all covered.

They alterned thorough the different scenes, Ron and Padma playing their own parts, it was finally Harry and Hermione turn to play the last part they had practiced with their teacher. It was the part were Kalia was revived by Prince Istyan's tears. It was also the part where that ruddy sequence of turns had to be done.

Harry smiled as he lifted Hermione in his arms, bending slightly over her. He twirled, sensing Hermione shifting a little to be ready for the rest of the sequence. Slowly, he slided to the ground, carrying Hermione down with him. She let herself be shifted so that her head rested in his lap. He bent over her, listening to the music as the haunting harp melody of Kalia's revival echoed in the room. Suddenly, Hermione's hand, glided up his chest to rest on his cheek. He smiled at her, taking her in his arms. The flute started to back the melody, followed, little by little by the whole orchestra, as he and Hermione went through the memorized steps. Chassé, petits pas (small steps), pas de basque, both of them perfectly in tune.

They danced around each other, only parting a little to come back together. Finally, as the scene drew to a close, Hermione tried to gather her concentration and her balance, feeling herself tense in anticipation of the turns. She placed her hand on Harry's shoulder to signal she was going to jump and did so, feeling him wrap an arm around her waist, another holding her left leg as she wrapped it around his own waist while her back was arched against his chest, her head hanging from his shoulder as he spun them, before slowly putting her back to the grounds, standing on her right leg. Using the momentum from their turn, Hermione twirled, bringing her leg down Harry was starting his own sequence which seemed as tricky if not trickier than her own. She started it, and thought she would get it as she managed the first turn of her pirouette. But as she was finishing the second, she felt herself loosing her balance. Deciding to cut her losses, she closed the sequence with a simple turn, lowering her arms from their crown position to a second position, trusting Harry to be here to catch her as she let herself fall backwards.

The feeling of Harry firm body behind her eased the dread she felt every time she had to let herself fall this way. To an outsider eyes they were locked in a rather intimate embrace, but that was what the roles said it has to look like.

They waited for the change in the music then pulled away.

Hermione's shoulders slumped down.

"I'll never manage to get that part right…"

Harry placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You managed a double this time, Hermione; I'm sure you'll get it with time."

Ginny snorted.

"I don't see why you're moaning about it, I can't even manage to do a simple pirouette."

"Yes, you see, there are worses case than yours, Hermione," said Ron, dodging the swat from his sister.

Padma chuckled at the red-head antics.

"Come on, it's nearly lunch time."

She headed out, drinking from her water bottle, followed by the others as Harry put back the CDs and the radio in a cupboard.

They met ouside the building twenty minutes later and walked calmly back to the house. Everyone was already seated and eating a tomato salad. The lunch went smoothly and soon Harry's parents and their friends were back to practicing.

"So, what do you want to do?"

Harry shrugged.

"We can go to the swimming pool in town, go for a walk around, we can rent movies…"

Ron looked up at the pool's mention.

"Will there be girls at the swimming pool?"

Ginny hit him with the closest thing she could laid her hand on, meaning the magazine that had been laying around.

"Ignore him, so, what will it be?"

Ginny looked out, the weather was rather nice.

"Is it an opened pool or a closed one?"

"Both, there is also a part with sauna, massage's rooms and a jacuzzi."

Padma and Ginny looked at each other.

"Let's go!"

Before the guys could say something they had run upstairs.

Hermione snorted at her friends' behiavor and made her way upstairs to get her bag ready. She was putting her swimsuit in it as Ginny entered.

"Hermione, please, tell me, you are not going to wear that… that thing today," she said pointing at it.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What's wrong with it."

"It's boring black, it's a one piece."

"It's practical. Anyway I don't have anything else."

Ginny smirked.

"That's where you are wrong my dear friend. Padma! She wants to wear IT again!"

The brown haired girl entered, tutting disapprovingly.

"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione…. What would you do without us?..."

"I'll be ready to go?"

Ginny snorted, bent forwards and snatched the piece of black cloth and threw it to Padma.

"Smartass, now, we, being the considerate friends we are picked out something for you to wear. You'll get your dear swimsuit back by the end of the holidays, promise." She pushed a plastic bag in Hermione's bag, closed it and stood up.

"Here you are, ready to go! Now, come one, the boys must be waiting for us."

"Whose fault it is?" asked Hermione, knowing better than to try to get her swimwear back. Not bothering to look at what Ginny and Padma had picked for her, she headed out, putting on a vest. Harry led her to the bus stop and thirty minutes later they were waiting at the swimming pool entrance. Once they had paid, they parted ways and the girls went laughing in the individual changing room as Ron was doing a quite good rendition of Snape death glare.

Still chuckling, Hermione opened her bag and decided to have a look at what Ginny had decided she was going to wear.

"GINNY! You're dead!"

Ginny's laugh was heard through the wall. Contemplating the flimsy piece of cloth Hermione sighed and put it on, at least they hadn't picked out a bikini…

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"Hermione, get out of there immediately!"

Harry looked up as he heard Ginny loud voice yell at her friend.

He looked at Draco who had been looking at the girl's changing room door for several minutes already.

"What's the problem with Hermione?" he asked, a bit bewildered.

Draco smirked.

"Padma and my dear girlfriend picked out her swimsuit… Ginny showed me. It's definitively not something she would willingly pick."

Curiosity picked, Harry looked up. Apparently, both Padma and Ginny had had enough and had taken to drag their friend out.

Ron whistled.

"I knew Hermion looked good, but if I had known she looked that good, I might have tried her…"

Draco shot him a warning glare.

"Keep your paws away from her, Ron. She's not your usual ditz."

Ron raised his hands.

"Calm down, I was just kidding! I would never do that, do you know how mean her right hook is?"

Harry laughed softly as he saw the blond wince. But he had to agree with Ron. Instead of her usual plain black suit, she had on a red two-piece which showed off her toned stomach and confirmed what he had previously thought of her body.

He didn't realized he had been starring until Draco poked him.

"Hey! Don't start drooling!"

Harry flushed slightly, but well, he was a male, and he had the right to appreciate a nice-looking body.

Ginny tugged on Hermione's hand and made her turn.

"So what do you think of our handiwork.?"

Ron smiled and the five friends knew he was going to say something stupid.

He didn't disappoint them.

"Nice ass, Hermione."

Next thing Ron knew, he was taking a dive in the pool. Coming to the surface, spluttering, he shot an annoyed look at the brown-haired girl.

"Really, Hermione, don't you know how to take a compliment?"

Hermione didn't even bother answering and dove neatly in the water, swimming away.

"Ronald, I think you vexed her," said Draco.

"No, you think?" Ron asked, sarcastically.

The red-head swam to his friend, and talked to her for a few seconds, she nodded, dunk him and swam back to her friends, pushing herself out of the water.

They swam and fooled around for an hour and as the guys started to have a little contest of who could dive the deepest, the furthest and so forth, the girls decided to let them to their manly games and went to lounge on some free chairs near the pool.

They were chatting happily, when they heard a cry.

"Dive bomb attack!"

Three bodies jumped in the pool as close to them as possible, drenching the three of them.

Ginny looked down to her now wet towel and turned her glare to the three men in the pool who were laughing at them.

"You're dead!"

"You'll have to wait in line, Ginny," growled Padma, Hermione nodding.

Smirks spread on their faces before they ran to the pool and dove tailing the young men who were now swimming away.

An full out war begun. While th girls had the upper hand at first, the boys were not about to surrender. After a few moments, Draco finally cornered his girlfriend and started to snog her senseless. Ron and Padma were chasing each other across the pool, splashing the other, diving, swimming around. Harry had been trying to catch Hermione, but she was evading all his attempts.

Finally he dove and caught one of her legs as she tried to swam away. Pulling on it, he managed to grab her by the waist before she could escape again.

She struggled, laughing.

"Let me go! Harry!" she squealed as he started to tickle her.

"Oh no! You must pay Miss Granger!"

"H-Harry! Stop! I c-can't breath!"

Laughing himself, he kept on tickling her, holding her against his chest with one arm.

"Hey! Keep your paws off of her, Potter!" shouted Ron

As if struck, Harry pulled away of a now blushing Hermione.

They looked at each other, a bit embarassed.

"Erm, I'm going to sit for a bit, I'm feeling a bit tired," said Hermione, feeling awkward.

Harry nodded.

"Yeah, me too, come on, let's go before Ron takes all the chairs."

They both went out of the water and joined Draco and Ginny who were laying side by side.

Ginny looked up as they approached them.

"Hermione, what do you think of going to this massage room?"

The young woman shrugged.

"Why not?"

Ron's sister smiled and took her hand.

"We'll ask Padma on the way."

Both of them left swiftly as Draco turned to Harry.

"Do you want to give this jaccuzi a go?"

Nodding, Harry started to walk towards said room, calling out to Ron at the same time. Forty minutes later, they were out and heading for the massage room. They found their three friends laying on their stomachs, eyes closed as they were massaged.

"Girls? Are you done?"

They looked at them, nodding. Thanking the people in the room for the massages, they left, following the boys out.

"Do you want to stay a bit longer or do you want to go back to the house?" asked Harry.

Hermione looked at the others.

"I'm ready to leave, if the others agree."

Draco, Ginny, Ron and Padma nodded and they left for the changing room.

Thirty minutes later, they were walking toward the closest bus stop, Harry and Hermione talking ahead, debating a rather obscure ballet movement, Padma looking at her cell, Ron looking at the girls around and Draco and Ginny chatting lowly, hand in hand.

Ginny was looking at both Hermione and Harry, a puzzled expression on her face. Draco smirked at her.

"So you noticed too?"

The red-head glanced at him.

"What? How relaxed Hermione is around Harry? How they spent most of their time together?"

Draco nodded.

"They would make a great couple, both dancing genius falling in love… just like Harry's parents did…"

The blond snorted.

"Keep your romantic side in check, Ginny. Now that Harry is single, the idea is not that far-fetched, but Hermione will never make the first move, I'm not even sure she sees him as more than a good friend."

Ginny had a strange gleam in her eyes as she looked at the two of them.

Ron looked at her sister, then at Hermione and Harry, then back at Ginny.

"Forget it, Ginny, it'll never work."

"Ron, they would be perfect for each other!"

The youngest Weasley son, waved her comment aside.

"They're too different, and Harry just broke up with his girlfriend."

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Twenty pounds they're together by the end of the year, without any outside intervention," he added, sending a meaningful look at his own girlfriend.

Ron shook on it.

"Your loss, Malfoy, this is a bet I'm not going to loose."

The four of them hurried to catch up with Harry and Hermione, as the both of them had stopped to wait for them. The trip back to the Potter's house was quiet. Draco challenged Ron to a game of chess, while Ginny did her nails. Padma and Hermione decided to get an head start on their homework and Harry chose to imitate them. Lily came to announce dinner was ready and after that they watched a DVD. They went on a ride the next afternoon, went to the movies, a nightclub after much negociating. One evening, while Ginny had ropped Draco, Ron and Padma into going to a small jazz concert, Hermione had decided to stay at the house and had went to the practice room. Neither Ginny nor her had managed the triple pirouette yet.

She had been practicing for an hour when she heard someone call out for her.

"Hermione?"

She smiled, stopping the music as Harry entered the room.

"I should have guessed you'd be here…" he said teasingly.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Very funny Harry, but I'm trying to practice here."

"You try too hard, Hermione…"

"I need to get it right."

Harry walked to her.

"So does Ginny but I don't see her here practicing."

"Maybe she should."

Hermione took the remote control and pressed played, concentrating on her steps. She managed a double but once more lost her balance during the third turn.

"Shit!"

Harry pressed the stop button.

"You try too hard, Hermione. Those steps will come naturally when you'll stop stressing about them and focusing so much on it."

She sighed.

"There's not that much time left Harry…"

The black-haired dancer smiled cheekily.

"I think you need a break from all that ballet. He sauntered to the radio and rummaged through the CD boxes.

"Really? And I'm sure you think you know what I should do."

Harry looked up from the CD box.

"Yes," he resumed his rummaging, "haha! And I have just the thing!" He put the CD in the radio and pressed play.

"Now, Miss Granger, may I have these dances?"

Hermione heard the first notes of a Strauss Valse.

"Well… I don't know…"

Harry grabbed her hand and started to lead her through the room.

"Too bad, because we're going to have some fun…"

Hermione laughed but allowed herself to be led around the room, both of them twirling easily over the dance floor. A fast beat salsa followed, then a good old rock, a rumba, a passo doble, the macarena, where both of them had fun changing the moves every time, another rock, a tango and finally a slow valse which allowed the two of them to calm down.

The CD stopped and both of them stopped.

"You'll get it, Hermione, I'm sure you will, you just need to relax a bit."

"Thanks."

Hermione flushed a little.

"Erm… Harry, could you let me go…"

Harry immediately dropped her hand and let go of her waist.

"Yes, erm.. sorry about that." He laughed a little, apparently a bit nervous.

Hermione laughed with him.

"No harm done… I think I'll go to bed, I'm pretty tired…"

"I'll do so too."

They locked the door and walked silently back to the house, unaware of the two people watching them.

"They look good together," said James, hugging his wife.

"Indeed, and she understands… But don't say it, James…"

"I told you so…"

"I asked you not to say it, honestly!"

James shot her a cheeky grin.

"You know you love me."

Lily smiled.

"Sometimes I wonder why… Sirius and Remus will be happy."

James nodded.

"Sirius in particular, he never liked Emily all that much…"

"Lucky he seems fond of Hermione."

"Yes, or I'd have to bear his whining for weeks…"

Both of them laughed and exited the building, heading back home.

The next morning, Lily found Hermione sitting in the kitchen sipping on a tea mug.

"Good morning."

"Good morning Mrs Potter."

Hermione, dear, I recall having told you to call me Lily several times already."

Flushed, the young woman nodded, looking down.

"Sorry…"

"No need! Where are the others?"

"Harry is out with your husband and the others are still sleeping."

Lily started to boil some water.

"Alright. Have you had a nice time so far?"

Hermione smiled.

"Yes, thanks for having us over, it's really nice of you…"

"It's my pleasure, I always like to have Harry's friends around. He used to invite quite a few people when he was still going to his ballet school."

Hermione looked at her.

"I thought he was home-schooled?"

Lily nodded.

"He was after the media made him some type of prodigy and had him on their front cover. Before that, we used to send him to school so he could meet other people."

"Did he chose to start to dance?"

Lily laughed.

"Yes and no… James and I were always practicing with the company and we didn't want to leave him with a nanny all the time of we often took him with us… He always tried to imitate us… I guess it grew on him after a while and we fed his interest."

"You must be proud of him," said Hermione, smiling.

"Very, he's a gifted dancer, one I think will leave his mark and most of all he is a good boy." Lily smiled softly, then turned her attention to Hermione. "And you, how did you come to enter Hogwarts? Why do you want to be a ballerina?"

Hermione chuckled.

"Well, my mother, like many women enrolled me in a ballet school when I was six and in a gymnastic school at four. I was spotted by scouts at eleven and was offered a scholarship to come to Hogwarts. My mother managed to convince my father to agree when they were assured that Hogwarts offered a good classical schooling. I kept on practicing gymnastic at Hogwarts as a hobby but I had to chose between it and ballet…" Hermione got a dreamy look. "There was never a doubt for me… I saw a video when I was twelve, The Swan Lake. I saw the prima dance the solo of the Swan's death and knew I wanted to be able to dance like her one day."

Lily smiled gently.

"I'm sure you'll manage to do so, Hermione. Harry keeps on singing your praises…"

Hermione chuckled.

"Harry is a bit biaised, but it's nice to know…"

"And you should have a bit more faith in yourself," said someone from the doorframe.

Hermione's head whipped up and she blushed slightly upon seeing Harry.

"You know it's impolite to listen to people's conversations uninvited?"

Lily shook her head, amused.

"It's useless, Hermione, this troublemaker is a lost case," she stated, shaking her fingers at her

Harry stuck out his tongue and extended his hand to Hermione.

"Ready to run?"

She took his hand, smiling.

"Lead the way!"

Lily watched them leave, a smile on her face, noticing Harry had not let Hermione's hand go.

The rest of the week passed quietly and on their last night at the Potter household, Ginny had dragged everyone out for a night of clubbing, except Hermione who had pretexted a headache to avoid having to go.

Deciding to practice once more since she couldn't sleep she went to one of the unused rooms upstairs on the fourth floor.

Foregoing the music, she just went through the different parts she had had to learn so far. Elysa's role was not as demanding as Kalia's so she went quickly over it before concentrating on Kalia's parts.

She was so involved in her dancing that she did not notice someone joining her. That's why she was heavily startled as someone grabbed her by the waist and lifted her.

She struggled to free herself, only managing to unbalance both of them, making them fall down, her on top of the guy who had surprised her, since no girl could biogically have bodyparts like those she could feel.

"Hermione, not that I mind a lot, but I think, it would be better if we got up…"

Flushing beet red, Hermione sprang to her feet, decking her friend's head as soon as he was up.

"What were you thinking, startling me like that!"

Harry rubbed his head, chuckling.

"It was too tempting…"

Hermione snorted.

"It was!" protested Harry. "And I'd like to point out the fact that you managed to do this sequence of turns that irritated you so much."

Hermione paused at that, recalling what parts she had danced. Realization dawned on her and she jumped to Harry's neck before she could stop herself.

"I did it!" she claimed, overjoyed.

Harry hugged her back.

"I told you you could, Hermione," he answered softly, his eyes softening.

Hermione pulled away.

"Thanks for believing in me, Harry, you don't how much you did for me this year!", she said, pecking him on his cheek.

Hugging him again, she then left, nearly skipping out of the room.

With an eyebrow raised in surprise, Harry watched her leave, smiling and feeling pleased.


	9. Holiday cheer and Accidents

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize!

A/N: Hello to you all!

Well first, my apologies for the delay.

I was waiting to get some feedback from my beta but since I haven't had any and didn't want to make you wait any more I posted the unbetaed version of this chapter.

Thanks to all those who reviewed your comments and encouragements are always welcomed.

Thanks again.

Naia

Chapter 9

The rest of their week at the Potters passed quickly and soon all the youths were packing to leave for Malfoy Manor. Draco's parents had arranged for transport. All their bags were gathered in the hall as they finished their breakfast in the kitchen along with the Potter's troupe.

Hermione was finishing her morning apple as the entrance bell rang.

Draco put down his knife and looked up smiling.

"That must be the cars."

They all stood up, Lily and a few other dancers started to clean the table.

"Go take your luggages to the cars, we'll finish here and come to say good bye," said Lily, smiling.

Nodding, the youths walked out of the room and in the hall, grabbing their bags and heading out of the house. Hermione turned to Draco, gaping.

"Limos, Draco?"

The blond rolled his eyes.

"My father… likes to flaunt the fact that our family is part of the British royalty."

The brown haired-girl frowned lightly.

"That's right. I think he's an earl…"

Draco nodded tightly.

"Exactly, and we are proud of it, but my father push it a bit too far for my tastes," mumbled the young man, earning a snort from Ron.

"Come on Malfoy, I'm sure you love every second of it."

The blonde shot him a wry grin.

"You better believe it, Weasley."

The chauffeurs and their aids started to take the bags in the cars as the four friends watched Draco and Ron bicker good-naturedly.

It was over within a few minutes and they took their time to bid the Potter household good bye, thanking Harry's parents for their welcome. Hermione hugged Lily tightly, thanking her for everything she had done.

They all climbed in the cars half an hour later after being reminded by the drivers that they were expected at Malfoy Manor before lunch.

The journey was uneventful. They had been put into two different cars. Harry, Hermione and Ron in one, Padma, Draco and Ginny in the other, none of them had dared to place Ron and Draco in the same car knowing they would not resist baiting the other for more than ten minutes, unless they were dancing.

Malfoy Manor was situated in the countryside not too far from the sea, overlooking it from high cliffs. Hermione watched, awed as the limos stopped at a portal and the drivers talked with the guards, handing passes before being granted entrance.

They drove for a few minutes, crossing a huge park and finally stopped in front of an old impressive manor. Hermione felt like one of those fairy-tale princesses as she got out the limo and was led inside by Draco, the drivers and their aids taking care of their luggage.

"Draco! You're home!"

Hermione watched, amused as an elegant blond woman walked towards her friend.

"Good morning mother." Draco pecked her on her cheeks, letting himself be embraced in his mother's hug. Narcissa Malfoy was an elegant woman, of average height and slim, with thin features and long blond hair that was obviously well taken care off.

Everything about her screamed wealth, elegance and refinement: From her discreet but expensive jewelry to her clothes that had obviously been tailor-made.

Draco hugged her back briefly before pulling away gently.

"It's good to see you, mother." He took her hand and walked her to where his friends where waiting for him.

"It's been a long time since your last visit, Draco. I missed you."

The blond shot her a smile.

"I missed you as well mother."

The Lady Malfoy smiled back fondly at her only son.

"That's nice of you, Draco, but I'm being rude. Who are your friends? I, of course know dear Ginevra and her brother Ronald, but I must say I don't know your other friends."

Hermione raised an amused eyebrow upon seing Ron winceupon being called Ronald, but the Malfoys didn't look like they were going to use nicknames.

Ginny shot Draco's mother a charming smile, even though it barely reached her eyes.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Lady Malfoy," she said, curtsying, Ron mumbling a salute, and bowing stiffly.

Narcissa Malfoy smiled at the red-heads.

"Ginevra dear, I told you already to call me Narcissa, it's only proper."

Ginny nodded silently.

Draco decided to diffuse the upcoming crisis, his relationship with Ginny was still a sore point for his parents.

"Mother," he said, walking her to Hermione, Harry and Padma, "May I present you some of my friends and fellow dancers." He turned to Harry who walked forwards, taking Narcissa's hand and kissing it lightly.

"Harold James Potter, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Malfoy."

Following Harry's example, Hermione curtsied flowlessly, thanking her summer camps for drilling it into her.

"Hermione Granger, lady Malfoy."

Padma imitated her, though a bit more awkwardly.

Narcissa graced them with an appraising smile, a bit surprised at their actions, but seemingly pleased by their behavior.

"Welcome to Malfoy manor. It's a pleasure to meet such well educated youths these days… But call me Narcissa."

She looked behind them.

"Dobby," she said in a clipped tone. "See that the bags of Draco's friends will be sent to their rooms promptly."

She turned back to the six friends and smiled.

"Draco, will you show your friends to their rooms and give them a short tour of the manor, lunch will be served in an hour to give you time to freshen yourself."

Draco nodded, smiling.

"Of course, mother, father isn't home?"

Narcissa shook her head, her blond hair ondulating with the move.

"Your father was called away for a reunion; he should be back in time for lunch."

Draco nodded again before motionning to the others to follow him.

Once he was sure his mother was out of hearing range, he rolled his eyes, shooting an apraising glance at Harry and Hermione.

"You got her good there with your handkiss, Potter; the curtsy was a nice move, Granger, Patil. She'll go easy on you, just mind your manner for the meals and she won't give you any troubles. You don't have a problem with cutlery?"

There he shot a wry look at Ron who flushed a little upon remembering his first stay at the manor.

The three others shook their heads, refraining from laughing.

Hermione eyed her clothes.

"Should we keep those clothes or change Draco?"

The blond surveyed their outfit.

"No, what you're wearing his fine, just put on some jewelry and make up, a tie would be good for you Harry, you too Ron. On the other hand, tonight will probably be another story; you brought several formals outfit, didn't you?"

They all nodded.

"Good, knowing my mother, we'll have to attend a few parties this week."

Hermione raised and eyebrow.

"Are your mother always that formal?"

Draco bit his lip.

"Not always, she's more relaxed when it's only family, but she'll probably lay back a little during the week."

Hermione was a bit puzzled. She couldn't imagine her or her family acting this way. She shrugged, to each his own quirks.

Lunch was as formal as the young woman had expected. They met with Lucius Malfoy who proved to an impressive man: tall, with blond long hair impeccably groomed and an authorative air about him which showed he was used to get his way in life.

The talking was stilted as servants brought the different courses. Hermione minded her manners and what she ate carefully, trying to avoid the courses with a lot of fat without being rude.

As coffee was brought to the table, Narcissa slightly tapped the corner of her mouth with the tablecloth and smiled at her son.

"I took the liberty to set up a small party to celebrate your return, Draco. The neighbours and some of your friends will be there, I hope this isn't a problem?"

Draco shot an amused smile at his friend, an 'I told you so' look in his eyes.

"Of course not, mother, it is very thoughtful of you."

Lucius took his cup of coffe and sipped on it.

"I will ask you to attend a few business affairs with me as well as a garden party organized at the Johansen, your friends can accompany you as well."

Draco nodded.

"That will not be a problem, father."

Narcissa smiled.

"Oh, and as I'm thinking of it; Melle Elodie de Murigny invited you to her thematic garden party on Friday night. She would be delighted to have your friends attend it too. She has been asking after you quite often."

Draco's face closed up slightly.

"I'll be happy to attend, mother."

Narcissa nodded, obviously pleased with herself.

"Very good, of course your friends are also invited. Geneviève told me Elodie chose the gems as her theme, I'm sure it will be a delightful party."

Draco rolled his eyes.

"Im sure it will, mother… now, if you'll excuse us, mother, I wish to show my friends the grounds…"

Narcissa took a sip of her coffee.

"What a grand idea, Draco, you might even take the horses."

The young man looked at his friends, asking them what they wanted to do.

Ginny and Harry both nodded, smiling. Ron shrugged non-comittaly and Padma and Hermione looked unsure. Understanding their unease, Draco smiled ay them.

"Don't worry; we have calm and obedient horses for beginners."

Harry turned to Hermione.

"Come on, it's really fun."

Hermione glanced at him then turned to Draco.

"You're sure it's safe, I've never ridden before."

Padma nodded as well.

Lucius looked at the two young women.

"I can assure you that the horses we would propose to you are safe."

Hermione smiled at the man.

"Thank you, sir. I would be glad to try it then."

Nodding to his parents, Draco folded his napkin and stood up. His friends followed, Harry bowing to the Malfoys, followed by Ron as the three girls curtsied before exiting the room.

Narcissa turned towards her husband, relaxing her stance.

"They seemed likeable youths. Ginevra has shaped up since her last visit. She's starting to behave like a well educated young woman."

Lucius, slumped a little in his chair, took a new sip on his cup.

"True, but there is still a lot of work to do… She isn't of noble blood."

Narcissa sighed.

"True, but given Draco's attitude, she might be a Malfoy soon. It's a pity he never was interested in young Elodie. She is quite taken with him."

Lucius nodded distractedly as Narcissa continued to talk quietly.

"I heard of the Patil, their father owns a chain of Indian restaurants and their mother created her own fashion brand. The Potter boy, well, his father is the son of old Louis, you know, that viscount… though the son decided to forget what his title entitled him to…"

Lucius shook his head.

"A pity, the boy is well behaved at least, I cannot say as much for Ronald… His manners are simply dreadful."

Narcissa tutted.

"As long as Ginevra get the bearing of a Malfoy, I care little about her familly. The Granger girl, now I never heard of that name before. She mustn't be from the same circles…"

Lucius shook his head.

"I think Draco told me her parents are dentists…"

Narcissa frowned.

"A shame, she's well behaved, polite, nice-looking though a bit dull…"

Lucius rolled his eyes.

"You're a bit harsh, darling. I found her to be a nice and discrete girl."

"Should I be jealous, darling?"

Chuckling, the Malfoy lord poured himself a glass of brandy.

"She's a bit young for my taste and Harold seemed quite taken with her."

Narcissa tilted her head to the sides.

"So you noticed also? I wonder if…"

Lucius looked up, serious.

"Darling, no matchmaking."

"But…"

Lucius stood up and went to stand behind his wife, placing his glass on the table, he leaned on her.

"Don't even try, Narcissa."

Surrendering to her husband's charisma and authority, Narcissa nodded, but a glint in her eyes showed Lucius that this was not the end…

Meanwhile, Draco had led his friends back to their rooms, found them some riding clothes and dragged them to the stabbles. There, he had quickly roused the staff and assigned a horse to all of them. After twenty minutes of grooming and readying the different mounts, Hermione and Padma were given a quick course on the basics.

Harry helped the young ballerina to get on her horse, a placid grey gelding, explaining to a few more things while Draco did the same with Padma.

"Relax Mione, alright. Your horse is safe. Now, to get him to go forwards, just tighten your legs around his flanks, or kick him gently with your heel."

Hermione nodded, looking tense despite her friends' effort to calm her.

"You hold the reins this way." He showed her the correct way to hold them. "While we walk, just try to follow the horse movements with your body without pulling on the reins."

She moved a little on the saddle to test her balance as Harry shortened her stirrups a little.

"Now, when we'll trot, you'll have to stand up noe beat over two. Try it: up, down, up down, that's good."

He smiled as Hermione gave him a shaky smile. "Then for the galop, just follow the horse movements, or lean forwards a little, yes like this and grab the mane. Are you alright?"

She nodded tersely, focusing on adjusting her grip on the reins.

"Good, I'll be next to you. OK?"

"Thanks Harry, that's nice of you."

Draco checked on the saddle, before walking to his own mount, a temperamental mare he favored for her spirit. Harry had been given a young gelding that had trouble staying in place. Adjusting his stirrups and reins, he nodded to Draco who pushed his mount forwards, Ginny pushing her own mare to walk by his side, Ron and Padma behind them and Harry and Hermione closing the group.

After a few minutes, Hermione relaxed enough to start to enjoy the outing. Her horse seemed more interested in eating than galopping away, though Draco seemed to have a hard time with his mare which kept trying to spur forwards. Hary was also reigning in his gelding, using his hands and legs to contain him.

"Trot!" said Draco as they reached a nice path in a wooden part.

He pushed his horse to slow trot, accelerating little by little to reach a good pace.

Harry kept glancing from his horse to Hermione. The young woman was concentrating on standing up and down, having a hard time coordinating her movements to the gelding's pace at first, she finally found the good beat and started to relax in her stance, looking at Harry and smiling.

Harry smiled back and quickly focused back on his own mount who had accelerated a bit and was starting to get a little too close to Ron's gelding.

Raising his hand, Draco signalled them to go back to the walk. He turned back to look at his friends.

"Alright everyone?"

A chorus of alright answered him.

"Great, we'll trot a little more, and galop afterwards near the lake. Ron, be careful, you know Thyme love water."

Ron grumbled.

"Yeah, I remember…."

They started to talk animatedly among each other, Hermione taking in their surroundings.

Draco's family own a huge land, that was well cared for.

"My father hunts a little when it's the season and often go exercise some of our horses. Several of them are getting good results on the racing tracks. They are trained on the circuit behind the manor," explained Draco. "We'll start trotting again."

Pressing his legs, his mare spurred forwards, taking a few strides of galop before Draco reigned her in.

Harry watched Hermione and was reassured to see Hermione stand up in time with her horse, pushing him to follow the others.

They neared the lake and Draco had them slow down to climb down a steep path to reach the lake's coasts. After walking on some irregular ground, they finally reached a clear path.

"We'll take a good canter and a full out galop in the climb there," he pointed to a gently pented plain. "Just stay at your place, alright?"

Harry shot Hermione a reassuring look, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, galloping is the best thing in riding, and old Gulliver won't take off, alright?

She bit her low lip.

"I know, I'm just a bit scared by it, but it has been great so far."

Draco shifted his legs and pressed them against the flanks of his mount. Leaning backwards, he reigned in his mare as she spurred forwards.

He led his friends for one lap around the lake, to allow those having never ridden before to get used to galloping.

Glancing behind him, he saw that Harry was coaching Hermione and that Padma had gotten the gist of it.

"Alright everyone?"

A chorus of yes answered him.

"Good, we do a new lap and go up the plain to the old oak."

He watched eagerly as they neared the plain and with a gleeful yell, loosened his reins, rejoicing in the speed of Kaendra, his mare.

Harry laughed as they galloped at full speed. He was careful to remain besides Hermione in case something happenned. She was leaning forwards, as he had advised her, clutching the mane.

The horses accelerated as they reached the flat part and the old oak came into view.

Draco, Harry and Ginny leaned back, slowing down their horses and checking that Padma's and Hermione's horses followed.

Gulliver and Naen did not pose any difficulties and followed obediently, slowing down to a slow canter, then a trot and a walk. Draco had them walked quietly back to the lake, to allow the horses to cool down.

"So Hermione?" asked Harry, "what do you think of your first riding experience?"

Hermione hesitated.

"It was good, but a little frightening. We were going so fast…"

Harry smiled at her.

"Not really, your horse is not up to gallop really fast, but you did fine. You just need to relax a bit more."

Draco stopped under some trees and climbed down.

"We can stop here for some moments. We'll tie the horses to the trees…"

For the hours that followed, the six friends stayed near the lake, talking, playing around. Around four in the afternoon, they climbed back on their horses and started to make their way back to the manor.

Harry had a harder time to control his mount as it felt it was on the way back to the stables.

They cantered again, trotted but mostly walked. Once back to the stabbles, they left the horses to the lads and headed to the manor to change and get ready for Narcissa's party.

Ginny went to Hermione's room and found her in her underwear, looking through her wardrobe.

She was dressed in an elegeant black dress, with a white rose pinned over the left side. Strass were intertwined in the fabric. A simple diamond pendant on a silver chain shone in the light. A silver bracelet was also tied around her wrist. She had left her hair down, in loose curls and wore little make up.

"You aren't ready? Narcissa doesn't take well to lateness."

Hermione looked at her, annoyed.

"I don't know what to wear…"

Ginny looked in the wardrobe and took out a simply cut periwinckle blue dress with a floral model embroidered on the hem and neckline.

"Put on simple jewelry, nothing too catching."

Hermione nodded and quickly put on the dress, adjusting the straps as Ginny rummaged through her jewel box and handed her a simple silver chain with a pearl on it and two pearl earrings to go with it.

"Just put those on and some make up, I'll take care of your hair. You'll have to wear it down; we don't have time to tie it."

Taking a brush, the red-head attacked the mass of brown curls, taming it with ease as her friend applied some discrete make up.

Five minutes later they left the room, with enough time to make it to the dining room without being late.

Their friends were waiting for them in the hall. Draco immediately took Ginny's arm, kissing her lightly.

"You're stunning, Ginny."

"If you mess my face, I'll hold you responsible for it, Draco." She smiled as she saw Harry offer his arm to Hermione.

"Don't even think about it, Ginny."

"Draco," she said in a whiny tone, "I would just give them a little push…"

The blond slip his hand around her waist and gave it a light squeeze.

"Let them be, Gin, come on, my mother will get impatient if we are anymore tardy."

"Far from me the idea to annoy your mother."

Hermione remained by Harry's side the whole evening, feeling a bit out of place among this gathering of elegance and wealth. She mingled a little and talked to a few people but mostly listened to the talks going on around her, minding her manners and attitude.

The evening passed quietly and Hermione was caught in the whirl of parties, shopping spree, outings that the Malfoys had planned for their son and his friends. Hermione would wake up earlier to go run in the morning and exercise a bit to stay in shape. Most of the time, Harry joined her, a few times joined by Padma. On Thursday, Narcissa sent them to a huge amusement park nearby.

°¤o¤°°¤o¤°°¤o¤°°¤o¤°°¤o¤°°¤o¤°°¤o¤°°¤o¤°°¤o¤°

Hermione shot an apprehensive look at the attraction her friends had got her to try. Eyeing the many ups and downs and loopings in the circuit as well as the speed and did not feel very sure she wanted to get on it.

"Er… I don't know if I'll come… Rollercosters aren't really my things…"

Ron passed his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't be a wet blancket, Hermione! It's fun!" The red-head was on a sugar-high, due to the amount of sweets and drinks he had absorbed.

Harry took her hands as they neared the end of the waiting line.

"It will be fine, besides if you hadn't come we would have been an uneven number…." It was then their turn and they settled in their seat, buckling their security belts.

Hermioned tensed as they started moving up.

"I really think it was a bad idea, really, I should just…"

Harry took her hand.

"Relax, it will be fun… and you can't get out of it now."

Hermione tightened his grip on his hand, eyes focused on the top of their climb tensing.

"It was a real bad idea, I know it, it's a bad ideaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Her last word was lost in her high-pitched scream as they passed the top of the climb and sped along the whole circuit.

As they stopped, Ginny, Draco, Ron and Harry were sporting large grin, laughing while Hermione was looking absolutely terrified and Padma was definitively green.

Hermione noticed she was still gripping Harry's hand and quickly let it go. Shakily she stood up and exited the attraction.

"It was fun, wasn't it?" said Ron, sauntering next to her.

Hermione shot him a withering look but refused to answer him. Harry chose to diffuse the situation before it worsened.

"So, what's next?"

Ron looked at the amusement park's plan.

"Well, what about the Vertigo?"

Padma shook her head, still looking a bit green.

"No way."

"Well, there is still the pirate boat."

The Indian girl's face shifted to sickly pale.

"You mean that balancing thing we saw at the entrance?"

Ron nodded eagerly.

"Don't even think of it,' she dead-panned. She snatched the plan to look for their next stop. "The haunted house! Now that is more to my tastes."

She walked to the right, the others following, smiling at Ron's sad face. They stopped at a few stands, to play, before reaching the Haunted house.

They could climb two by two in every cart. Draco went in with Padma, since Ginny insisted to go in with her brother, meaning she had an idea.

Hermione climbed next to Harry, chuckling, having seen what Ginny had won at a stand.

"What is so funny, Mione?"

She shot him a smile, leaning on him as the worker of the attraction checked on their security belt.

"Ginny won a plastic spider at the ball trap stand and Ron is really afraid of them."

The cart started and jostled both of them. Harry's hands shot up to catch Hermione, unadvertently placing them on her chest, as her own hands slipped past his waist. Immediately they jumped appart, both of them flushing.

"Er, sorry about that," stammered Harry.

"Same here…" Hermione couldn't bring herself to look at him.

Suddenly a shrill scream erupted.

They looked at each other and erupted into laughter.

"Ron."

They enjoyed the rest of the tour and got out of the cart to see Ron yelling at Ginny who was leaning on Draco to catch her breath.

They walked to a water ride but Padma stopped them as she spotted a seer's stand.

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

Draco rolled his eyes.

"Padma, don't tell me you believe in that crap!"

"Draco, just for the fun!"

She shot him a puppy dog eyes.

He tried to hold her gaze but faltered.

"Oh, alright! Better get this over quickly."

Taking Ginny's hand, he dragged them to the stand, pushing open the heavy curtains, and nearly choking on the smoky atmosphere.

"Enter sirs and ladies, enter and hear Madame Cassandra's prediction, love, work, health, you'll know all about your future."

Rolling his eyes, the blond sat on the chairs.

Madame Cassandra was a small chubby woman dressed in frilly red dress with many necklaces and bracelets that rang with her every movement.

"Sit down, please; sit down, ladies and sir, and Madame Cassadra will tell you all about your future."

They took place in the chairs and watched as the woman started to make large gestures over a crystal ball.

"I see, I see much love in the coming years, young Sir, for you and this young lady. A wedding and a large house… much success in your life… in politics for you young man and in your wedding, young lady."

She turned to Harry and Hermione who were trying to stiffle their laughter upon seeing Ginny's face.

"You two will soon find love with each other and meet great success in the months to come though you will have to overcome many hurdles to fight for your couple. You have to beware from holes, young lady…"

Hermione was torn between laughing and blushing. She nearly cursed as she could feel herself flush a little.

The woman then turned to Ron.

"You will make a lot of money in the year to come and your name will be known. Beware any blondes in your close future, they will likely betray you. As for you, my dear," she turned to Padma, then concentrated on her crystal ball, eyes closing in concentration. "You will learn a disheartening piece of news soon, but will found the strencgth to cope with your friends. Watch out on the full moon night for shadows will abound. You will be rewarded in the end for you constance and perseverance, but you must stay strong."

She decided to predict their love life using tea leaves before asking for her fees.

The six friend left, managing to refrain from laughing before they were out of earshot before doubling over, clutching each-other not to fall down.

The rest of the day was enjoyed thoroughly and they got back to the cars that had waited for them all day and were driven back to the manor to change and get ready for dinner.

The next day, Hermione went for her morning run with Harry and got ready for the day. They had nothing planned in order to get eady for the party tonight, so she had decided to practice a little. Putting on a tight pair of coton pants and a top, she took her pointes, some water and her CDs before making her way to the ballroom.

She spent the morning working there before heading back to her room to change for lunch.

She met Ginny in the staircases.

"Hermione! Finally! Where were you? I looked for you to see what you planned to wear tonight!"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I was practicing in the old ballroom… And I don't see why you're so upset about this party."

Ginny motionned to her to follow her downstairs.

"You don't know that little viper like I do. You need to appear at your best. You remember what theme she chose?"

"Yes, of course, the gems if I remember right."

Ginny nodded.

"I can bet you anything that she will choose the black diamond. Her father acquired some of the biggest diamonds in the world… She will want to put them on display," she said, snarling.

Hermione shrugged.

"Good for her, it's not like I care."

Ginny pushed a door open.

"You are a guest to the Malfoy, anything you'll do will be reflected on them."

Hermione bit her low lip.

"Do you have your dress?"

Ginny nodded.

"Thanks to Draco. He offered me an emerald set of jewelry on my birthday. Narcissa had a dress been readied for me. She doesn't like Elodie anymore than I;though I know she would have preferred Draco to date her than me since her family is from an old noble line and quite wealthy. So do you have something ready?"

Hermione sighed.

"I don't know, I'm not sure it would qualify for such a party and fit the theme."

Ginny racked her hand through her hair.

"Then, I suggest you go to Narcissa if you have nothing to wear. Padma chose the amethyst. Do you have a stone in mind?"

Hermione tried to think of what she could pick.

"I have an old amber set that belonged to my grandmother."

Ginny tilted her head.

"Speak with Narcissa, she'll help you. She really took a liking to you."

Hermione nodded as they stepped in the dining room, taking their place at the table.

Once the lunch was over, the young ballerina headed to her room. She walked to her wardrobe and looked at the dresses she had packed for her stay at the Malfoy. None of them seemed to be right for tonight's party. Hesitating on the conduct to adopt, she finally made her mind. Exiting her room, she went to the gardens, knowing Mrs Malfoy liked to stay there in the afternoons.

She found Draco's mother tending after several rose bushes.

"Lady Malfoy?"

The woman stood up, looking as elegant in her gardener outfit as she did in a designer dress.

"I thought I asked you to call me Narcissa dear."

Hermione shot her a sheepish look.

"I apologize if I'm bothering you, but I wanted to talk about tonight's party."

Narcissa nodded, waiting for Hermione to explain herself.

"Well, after you told us of the theme of this party, I went to check on the clothes I had taken with me, but none seems fitting. I don't wish to attend this party dressed in a way that could be detrimental to your reputation…"

Narcissa laughed lightly.

"Hermione, darling, you don't need to be so worried, though your concern is commendable. Leave me a few minutes to change and I'll come with you to see how we can resolve that dilemma of yours."

Hermione smiled, relieved and headed back inside the house to her rooms.

Ten minutes later, Narcissa entered looking as regal as usual.

"Now, darling, show me those dresses."

A bit embarassed, Hermione took out the models she had taken with her. Narcissa approached them and eyed the material and cut, fingering it.

"Those are nice dress, darling, but they won't do for tonight… Ginevra told me you had an amber set?"

Hermione nodded and stood up to bring a box to Narcissa.

She opened it and smiled.

"Very nice, we'll just have to find a dress to go with it… And I might have just the thing… Come on."

Lady Malfoy looked like a small school-girl as she dragged Hermione to a room on the third floor.

"This is where I keep old outfits and dresses. Your figure is not too different from mine and I can call one of my sewers to adjust it to you…"

"Lady Malfoy… I… It's too much."

The blonde made a dismissal gesture of her hand.

"Think nothing of it, darling, now come here and let's get a look at those dresses."

They spent the next hour going other the different cuts. They finally agreed on a model, it was a silk-honey color that emphasized her hair and hazel eyes. The bodice was tight, stopped a little above the chest, the straps were made of braided strands and little amber beads were stuck to the bodice into spiralling pattern as well as on the right side on the lower half of the dress.

The skirt fell to the ankles and was cut on the left side up above the knee while following Hermione's figure.

"That will do wonderfully. I'll call Maria to adjust it for you. You'll be able to wear those shoes you had at the Herringuas. As for your hair…" She fingered a few curls. "I'll send Nathalie to you."

Hermione bit her lip.

"Lady Malfoy, I can't. It's too much!"

The blonde woman smiled.

"Think nothing of it, darling. I'm glad to help and it's not as if I would have worn that dress again." With a gentle pat on Hermione's shoulder then she glided out of the room.

The afternoon was spent with Maria to adjust the dress to her figure. At five, she went to see Ginny and Padma since she had been roped into a nail-session.

For the next hour they chatted as they did their nails, Hermione even took pleasure in it. The boys had spent the day out, accompanying Draco on an errand for his father to check on several of their properties.

She then went back to her room to have her hair done and take care of the make up part. By the time Nathalie was done, she had her hair up with several loose curls framing her face, the rest was gathered into strands intertwined together in a large bun with a few beads stuck in it.

Finally, she put on her shoes and her jewelry: a ring, a bracelet, amber beads and her necklace that was formed of silver spirals with amber stuck in it.

That done, she took the creamy veil that Narcissa had sent to use as a shawl and tied it around her shoulders before leaving the room.

She went down the stairs to meet with the others in the hall.

Harry walked to her, offering her his arm.

"Lady Malfoy told us you had to come escorted, do you mind coming with me?" he asked.

Hermione took his arm, rolling her eyes, squashing the unease Harry had started to bring in her recently.

"Of course I will, just to spare my toes…"

Harry smiled.

"You look nice by the way."

After a few morewords, they all left for the cars, Narcissa and Lucius accompanying them. Ginny and Draco climbed in a car with them, the four others in a second one.  
After thirty minutes, the cars approached the portals of the De Murigny's property that though not as big as the Malfoy was just as wealthy.

Hermione could see lights from where the cars had stopped and soon they all could hear some music coming from the old looking manor.

The cars stopped in front of the entrance and two men stepped forwards to open the limos' door.

All the youths stepped out and made their way up the stairs an into the hall.

"Draco, darling! How good to see you!"

They all turned to see a good-looking blonde woman walked to them, dressed in an obviously designer black dress sparkling under the lights.

Draco pasted a smile on his face, Ginny's grip tightening on his arm.

"It's a pleasure to see you, Elodie," he said, kissing her hand.

She smiled winningly at him, turning to his parents.

"Lord Malfoy, Lady Malfoy, it's a pleasure to see you tonight. My parents will be delighted to see you again."

The two adults nodded as she curtsied.

She went back to Draco's side.

The blond young men smiled coldly at her.

"Elodie, you remember Ginevra, I'm sure?"

The young woman pursed her lips.

"Indeed, she left quite an impression on this house."

Draco nodded.

"I'm sure she did. May I present you my school friends, Ronald Weasley, Padma Patil, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter who are spending the holidays at the Manor."

Elodie looked all of them up and down, her eyes lingering a bit longer on Harry who was looking quite dashing for the occasion.

"How nice of you, darling. Well, I must welcome the Moresters, I will see you around."

The six friends walked to the ballroom where people had already gathered and were talking quietly.

Hermione could only stare upon the display of wealth before her eyes. For the evening she stayed by her friends, Draco and Ginny having to go meet several people close to the Malfoys.

Dinner was served in the dining room next door once everyone was seated and then the people went back to the ballroom. As a waltz started, Elodie walked to Draco, choosing him as her partner, much to Ginny's annoyement.

She went to Padma and Hermione, scowling.

"That-that!"

She took a deep breath.

"Well, the only thing that reassures me is that Draco can't stand her…"

Padma rolled her eyes.

"I can see why… are they all like her?"

Ginny shook her head.

"Thanks God not!" She looked around. "This is Carlos da Luerna, try to avoid him, Goeffrey and Charles are nice, David and Pierre too. Valerie and Sabyne are vipers and horrible gossips. Anette, Rachelle and Marianne are nice to talk to. Julie and Celine are always entertaining."

As a second waltz started, Ginny walked to the dance floor, while other couples joined Elodie and Draco.

"Now excuse me, I have a boyfriend to save from this leech," she stated, drawing chuckles from her friends.

Harry turned to Hermione, offering his arm.

"Want to dance?"

She placed her hand in his playfully.

"Lead the way, good sir."

They alternated dance and talks. Hermione dancing with Draco and Ron a few times as well as with the one Ginny had called Goeffrey and the one called Pierre.

Finally, a man took a microphone.

"And now, Ladies and Gentleman, a small dance contest will be set up. The couples willing to enter this friendly competition are asked to come and sign up in the coming minutes."

Harry looked at Hermione.

"Please, please, please?"

She rolled her eyes.

"As if I would hear the end of this if I didn't agree…"

She took her place, readying herself for the first dance as the man explained the rules.

"There will be four dances: two waltzes, a salsa and a tango. The couples will be judged by the esteemed Judge, M. Davingston."

Harry smiled at Hermione.

"Let's win this!"

They danced the first waltz flawlessly, then the salsa, a second waltz which was easier since two third of the competitors had been eliminated. Four couples remained on the floor: Ginny and Draco, Elodie and Carlos, another couple and them.

It was then the last dance, a tango. Harry took the red rose he had stuck in his breast pocket and gently placed it in Hermione's hair.

"To make it more real," he said smiling as Hermione flushed a little.

The orchestra started on the music and they began dancing, eyes locked. They did not realize that they were the last ones on the dance floor, only focused on the other.

As the music stopped, Harry dipped Hermione backwards, leaning over her with a pleased smile.

"Apparently, we won this competition…" he said, pulling Hemrione up.

"Seems so," she replied, curtsying to M. and Mme de Murigny as Harry bowed.

They walked to their friends who congratulated them. Ginny in particular looked quite smug. Seeing Elodie's stormy face, Hermione got an inkling of the reason of her pleasure.

The orchestra started playing again and couples went back to dance.

The rest of the night passed in a blur for Hermione and as they took their leave, thanking their host she felt exhausted. She climbed in the limo and watched as they drove out. She was lulled to sleep and so was a bit surprised when a gentle shaking woke her up.

"Hermione? Hermione, wake up."

Slowly getting her bearing back, she moved her head against the nice warm pillow she had found. It took her a few seconds to realize that this pillow was in reality Harry's chest.

Mortified, she pulled away immediately, blushing madly.

"Ha-Harry, I'm sorry! Why didn't you wake me!"

He chuckled.

"You were too cute to be disturbed and you looked like you needed it. There was no problem!"

She flushed, not knowing what to say.

"It was no problem, now we should go."

Hermione nodded and got out of the car, walking quickly to the manor, bidding good night to the Malfoys and hurrying to her room.

This night, she had troubles finding sleep.

The next day, she woke up late and dressed quickly before going down to the kitchen to get some food, meeting with Ron and Padma on her way down.

They spent the day resting or starting packing as they were to leave after lunch to take their train back to Hogwarts in the afternoon.

Hermione was in her room, finishing her packing. A light tocking made her stop and stand up.

"Enter."

Narcissa Malfoy stepped in the room, glancing approvingly at the spotless aspect of the room.

"Do you need help, darling, I can send you someone to help you."

Hermione smiled.

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy, but I will be fine, I'm nearly done. I put the dress you lend me in the cupboard. Thank you again for lending it to me."

Narcissa tilted her head on the side.

"But you can keep it, darling, Lord knows I won't wear it again!"

Hermione frowned.

"I can't accept, Lady Malfoy. This dress is priceless!"

The blond smiled benignly.

"And it will only catch dust in my cupboard. Accept it. You were a real delight to have here. Take it as a prize for winning that dance contest at the de Murigny's. Lord knows that arrogant littlegirl needed it, no matter how well-bred she is. She prides herself on being the best ballroom dancer around…"

Tear welled up in Hermione's eyes. She took a few steps forwards and hugged the Malfoy lady.

"Thank you!"

The woman pat her on her back, smiling though looking a bit awkward.

"It's nothing, darling. Now dry your tears and finish packing, will you?"

She glided out of the room, leaving a gaping young woman behind her.

The lunch was more relaxed than usual and before she knew it, it was time to leave for London and King Cross station.

They were driven to the station and got on the train for Hogsmeade. The journey back to the school was uneventful and they took the bus up to the school, settling down in their rooms quickly to be in time for dinner.

School started back on Monday and to Hermione's relief, the rumours that had been running around the school seemed to have died done.

Her respite was short-lived since the next edition of the magazine in which Skeeter wrote comprised several pages going over the budding romance between Emily and Jonathan Trent as well as the supposed relationship between herself and Harry, photos of the party at the De Murigny splashed in the magazine.

However with the exams approaching, as well as the intensifying of the rehearsals, people found themselves much too busy to gossip.

Hermione was running between rehearsals for Phoenixia, for the End of the year Gala and the work for her exams as well as the many tutoring lessons she was giving.

For the moment she was standing on the stage in the main showroom of the school that would be used for Phoenixia and the Gala. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Sinistra had taken their class to work over the different scenes from Sleeping Beauty that would be presented during the Gala.

They were rehearsing with their costumes since those had been finished a week earlier. Phoenixia's were still being worked on, but they would soon be able to dance with them.

For now the graduating class had been divided into four groups that would each present one scene before dancing a fifth one together.

Hermione and Harry had been placed into the group dancing the Ball and Waltz part

Ginny, Draco, Ron and Padma were part of the group dancing on the Introduction and the Evil witch entrance.

She was dressed in a pale blue costume, made of a tight fitting bodice embroidered with some sparkling beads. The skirt was ankle-length, made of tulle and veil.

She and Harry were Sleeping Beauty and her Prince and so were in the limelight. This stressed Hermione, since she was scared of making a fool of herself.

They all waited for their cue to enter as each couple entered one after the other, Harry and Hermione being the last ones to step on stage.

Then came the slow waltz part. They waltzed for a few beats, the girls making a pirouette on their pointes before stopping in an arabesque pose.

The choregraphy passed smoothly, the three teachers observing their every move and spotting every tiny mistake. Flitwick was also present to judgetheir Expression and the feeling they were conveying.

Suddenly, as Hermione had just finished a series of steps and jumps, ending with a grand jeté tourné and was making a slow developpé, she heard a loud creaking noise and the ground disppeared under her feet.

With a scream, she fell through the floor, her arms hittingaconcrete billar that suported the stage as well as several metallic bars.

She hit the ground forcefully and stayed slumped on the ground, pain radiating from her hips and elbow on her righ side as well as both knees. She also felt her head throbbing from where she had hit it on the floor.

"Hermione! Hermione! Hermione! Answer!" She could hear frantic cries from above us but was still disoriented from her fall.

She could hear running footsteps hurry towards her.

"Don't move her!" snapped a female voice. "Let me see…"

Two cool hands took her head.

"Hermione, dear, answer me. Where are you hurt?"

Hermione bit back a moan.

"Right side… both knees and the head."

"Can you stand up?"

Hermione nodded but immediately regretted doing so as her head throbbed harshly.

"Slowly, Miss Granger; that was a nasty fall you took. Remus, go fetch M. Filch to see to this trap and why it gave out," snapped a woman.

Hermione was carried through the Chamber of Secrets as the students had dubbed the space under the stage to work out the machinery and some entrances. She was brought to the Infirmary and Mrs Pomfrey immediately started to take care of her.

She gave her a mild sedative and Hermione let herself drift off.

She came back to consciousness a few hours later. Blinking, she slowly got her bearings back and memories of what had happened.

"Hermione?"

She slowly turned her head on her left side and saw Ginny and Harry sitting by her bed.

They immediately sprang to their feet.

"Harry? Ginny?" She tried to move.

Harry sat on her bed and took her hand.

"Don't move, that was a nasty fall you took."

She winced as she moved her head.

"How long?"

"You were asleep for a few hours. It's nearly dinner time."

"When?..."

"Pomfrey wants you to stay here for a day at least…"

"But, what about?"

Harry cut her.

"No, you rest. The police was called… This trap was opened, she did not give out."

Hermione paled even more.

"What?... But…. Who?"

Harry squeezed her hand.

"The police is working on that, apparently they found a print…"

Hermione sighed.

Ginny pushed some curls out of her face.

"Just rest, Hermione. The police is taking care of that." She looked at her watch. "We have to go, don't worry, we'll come back before breakfast."

Harry shot her a worried glance and left with a last squeeze.

Mrs Pomfrey came to check on her.

Two days later, she was allowed to leave and welcomed it, having grown sick of the Infirmary. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Padma had came several times to see her and brought her her homework.

The police had indeed found a print, but no match. They had decided to take the prints of all those living in the School.

She drowned herself in her work to try to forget, but couldn't repress her fear on dancing on the stage again.

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Hermione finished her turn slowly and curtsied, sliding to a finish position on the ground, arms extended in front of her, hands joined and her head bowed.

The music stopped and she stood up, stretching. They were once more rehearsing in the main auditorium, and she couldn't get rid of that lasting lingering fear when she danced onstage.

The police had taken the finger prints of all the people in the school, save the younger years. For now, it hadn't given anything.

"Alright people, go put on your costumes, we'll do it one more time!"

Hermione wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed.

Harry came to her and placed and arm around her shoulders.

"You need to relax, Mione. The entrance to the Chamber is locked, you have nothing to fear."

Hermione sighed again.

"Easy for you to say, Harry, but that's not that easy."

He squeezed her shoulder.

"I believe in you, Mione. You'll manage it. Alright?"

"Well, it will have to."

"Harry, Hermione, get a move!" shouted Sirius.

They parted and hurried to the changing room.

Five minutes later, two girls rushed to Sinistra.

"Madame! Madame! You must come!"

The teacher looked up from her paper sheets.

"What is it, girls. I don't have time to lose."

"It's Hermione, Madame… Someone destroyed her costumes."

At that the professors immediately stood up and hurried to the girl changing room, followed by Remus and Sirius.

The three teachers found the girls huddled around Hermione and her wardrobe. Sinistra ordered the girls to get dressed and leave. Only Padma and Ginny remained in the room. The professor started to assess the damage done to the different costumes as Sirius and Remus comforted the distraught girl.

"Miss Weasley, Miss Padma, please take Miss Granger outside. You are excused from today's class. Gentlemen, I'll meet you in the Headmaster's office."

She discreetly showed them a letter she had found pinned to the remains of the ballerina's costumes. The two men nodded and all of them left the changing room.

Ginny and Padma hugged their friend, comforting her

"It'll be alright, Hermione, they'll get who ever it was. I mean, you can only come in there by going through the auditorium and there are cameras there… The loony that did that is bound to be on the videos," said Padma.

Ginny agreed wholeheartedly.

"Yes, Hermione, Padma is right. Don't worry; they'll get whoever did it."

Hermione nodded dumbly.

"I-I just don't get it! What did I do to them! Why now!" Her voice was wavering as everything caught up with her. She was pulling on her hands, coming to the end of her nervous resistance.

"Hermione?"

Draco, Harry and Ron had come, looking worried.

Harry went to sit next to the young ballerina while Draco was talking in low whispers with Ginny. Ron was looking around, interested.

"So, that's what girl changing rooms look like… Yours are bigger than ours… and we don't have that many vanities like those…"

Padma smacked his head, earning a cry from the red-head.

"Hey! What was that for!"

She pointed to Hermione.

"I don't think it's really the best of time to discuss this, Ron…"

Ron lowered his voice.

"Excuse me for trying to lighten the atmosphere, Padma, but Harry seems to have the situation under control… Moreover, I'm hopeless at this emotional stuff."

Padma repressed an amused smile. She turned to Ginny, noticing both her and Draco heading for the door.

"Ginny?" she asked lowly. "Where are you doing?"

The young woman had a hard gleam in her eye.

"Draco and I are going to have a small talk with several gossipers…"

"But what about Hermione?"

Ginny had a small smile on her face.

"I think Harry will be able to take care of her…"

Padma nodded and ushered Ron out in Draco's and Ginny's wake.

If Hermione and Harry noticed it, they did not say anything.

Harry had passed an arm around her shoulders and was hugging her.

"I don't understand, Harry," finally said the young woman. "I don't see what I did wrong!"

Harry raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"Who says you did something wrong?"

"Then why does all this happen to me!"

"Hermione…"

"No! I was expecting some harassment, but not to that extent! I can't step on the stage without shaking, my costumes are ruined! I should just call it quit!"

Harry just squeezed her.

"Don't say things like that, Hermione. It's not like you!"

Hermione sighed.

"I'm tired of pretending it does not affect me… I can't take much more… I just wanted to finish my time quietly here and enter a company and keep dancing for as long as I could… Maybe teach afterwards, I don't know! But I never wanted this!"

Harry remained silent, guessing she needed to get this out of her system.

"Maybe, I'm not cut to last in this line of work…"

Harry took her chin and turned her head to him.

"Don't say that. You're brilliant, Hermione, how many times will I need to say it. If I didn't know better, I would say, you're fishing out for compliments. You have what it takes to be a great Prima. You just need to get rid of those doubts and quit trying to please everyone."

Hermione snorted and looked aside, not really understanding the intensity with which Harry spoke.

"Easy for you to say, Harry, you're not the one targeted by this loon!"

Harry sighed.

"True, but I'm your friend, aren't I? And so I'm here to help you whenever you can, be it with Expression class or with a loon on the loose."

Hermione rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, steadying herself.

"Alright, crisis over," she said calmly.

Harry offered her a smile.

"Are you sure? You are allowed quite a few hours of hysterical outburst to compensate from all those years of having been composed if Ginny is to be believed."

Hermione laughed a little and pulled away, standing up. Walking to her ruined costumes, she looked at them sadly. Mrs Pince was going to have a coronary.

"Well, I'd better take those to Mrs Pince and have them replaced." She cringed at the idea of affronting the woman.

"I'm coming with you to protect you from the old dragon."

The meeting with her proved to be as unpleasant as Hermione had imagined. The woman had been apoplectic and though she knew she had no part in it, Hermione had felt a bit responsible for the damage.

They did not see the others till dinner. Hermione had gone to see Sabyne, a girl in the Advanced classes to get her notes and the homework that had been assigned.

Meanwhile, Harry talked with Ginny and Draco.

"Found anything?"

Ginny scowled at Lavender and Parvati; both of whom had been surprisingly quiet this evening.

"Well, nothing really enlightening…" She stabbed her steak forcefully.

Draco nodded.

"Lavender and Parvati, plus a few other girls were the ones orchestrating the rumours about Hermione. They admitted having written Skeeter and provided her with most of her information for her articles as well as having sent a few letters."

Ginny snorted.

"I think at least half of the girls in the graduation class might have written some hate mail, but not those threatening Hermione received…"

Harry thought for a little while.

"Do you believe them?"

Ginny was pensive then nodded.

"Yes, they're gossips but they know the limits of what is accepted at school. This is going way too far for them. They wouldn't risk getting expelled for this, in particular when they have good chances at entering good companies."

Draco acquiesced.

"She's right; they're not that stupid…"

Ginny snorted.

"That still remains to be seen."

Draco shrugged.

"Well, we gave them a friendly little warning."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Little? Could it be the reason for their rather subdued behaviour tonight?"

Ginny's eyes widened with fake innocence.

"I don't know what you're talking about. We just friendly advised them to back off Hermione for the rest of the year…"

Ron rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, right… as if," he said, munching on his potatoes.

Ginny put her hand to her head.

"Ronnie, I'm hurt you can think such things from your sister!"

"The innocent look doesn't suit you, Ginny-dear," retorted her brother.

Hermione joined them at that moment and sat next to Harry.

"What's going on?" she asked lowly, watching as Ginny and Ron proceed to exchange barbs.

Harry shrugged.

"Just the usual; Ron being Ron and Ginny being Ginny."

The rest of the table watched amused as the two siblings snapped at each other, laughing, troubles forgotten for the moment…


	10. In a mad world

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize.

A/N: Alright, alright, I know…. Way too damned long wait… Well I can't say much about that apart from sorry. This chapter was not one of the easiest for me to write and I must have changed my mind about the way it was supposed to go about ten times. So I'll post this before I change my mind again.

Given the time it took me to get it out, this is the unbetaed version, I will post the corrected chapter as soon as I get it back from my beta who I thank in advance for his work.

So I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Only one more to go and the Epilogue.

Naia

Chapter 10

What had happened was all over the school. Hermione stayed in her room for the rest of the day, reading the whole time to keep her mind off of what had happened.

She did not leave, not up to face everyone.

She had changed into one of her old T-shirt and shorts after taking a long hot shower. Munching on one of the apples she kept in her room, she turned a page, eager to know who had killed the heiress when a soft knocking on her door startled her.

"Who is it?"

"It's us, Hermione," answered Ginny.

"Us?"

"Yes, can we come in?"

Assuming she meant her and Padma, Hermione stood up and went to open the door.

She flushed as she saw that Harry and Draco were also here, aware of the clothes she was currently wearing.

"H-Harry… I…"

The young man chuckled.

"Sorry to come like this, but we all thought you were in need of some serious cheering up time…" said Harry, raising drinks while Draco was holding some food in his arms.

Before Hermione could answer, Ginny spoke up.

"Can we enter?"

Hermione blushed and stepped aside, letting them in. She was glad she had tidied her room a little and that nothing compromising was lying around.

Harry and Draco put the drinks and food on a small table Hermione unfolded for them. That done they took out plastic glasses, bowls and plates and placed them next to the food.

All of them settled around the room. Padma sat on a chair while Draco went to sit on her bed, Ginny settling on his lap. Hermione took a cushion and sat on the floor imitated by Harry.

"Where is Ron?" she asked.

Ginny rolled his eyes.

"That prat got into a fight with Theo and Snape happened to pass by at that moment. He's in detention at the moment."

"What was the fight about?"

Draco snorted.

"Nothing in particular. Ron is just easily riled up and was acting like the red-head he is."

Ginny smacked him upside down.

"What have you against red-heads?"

Draco kissed her on her cheek.

"Absolutely nothing my dear."

The evening was spent talking, laughing and playing games. It was about midnight when they left a considerably more cheerful Hermione.

Harry waited a bit behind as they wished the young ballerina a good night.

"You'll be alright, won't you?"

Hermione nodded.

"I should. Thank you for this…"

Harry smiled gently at her.

"That was the least we could do, Hermione."

There was an awkward silence.

"Well, I'll be going…" finally said Harry tentatively. "I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

Hermione nodded, a bit relieved that the silence had been broken.

"Yes. Well, good night then I guess…"

Harry nodded.

"Yeah, good night, see you tomorrow."

He stepped out and walked to the staircase.

Hermione closed the door and leaned against it, sighing. Whatever was going with Harry, she hoped it would solve itself quickly… As if she didn't have enough things to worry about…

The rehearsals resumed the next day and the teachers decided the best way to keep tongues from running wild was to completely exhaust them… It was working with more or less success, but Hermione was most of the time too tired and busy to think about it.

Before she realized it May had come to an end and between all the studying needed to be done for the finals and last rehearsals for the Gala and the presentation of Phoenixia, Hermione had little time to herself but she had come to like this, it left her less time to think and ponder about what was going on.

The inquiry about the incidents and attacks against her was not progressing quickly. The print found had not been in the police's files and the comparison to the prints of the student population had been a dead end.

The Headmaster was keeping her updated on the progress or lack of them.

Though she would love nothing more than to forget this ever happened, she knew the culprit had to be found…

And there was Harry…

Though she had made sure not to change her behaviour around him, the butterflies that seemed to appear whenever he was near were not really linked to the upcoming Gala. She had lost the ease she felt while with him… Sometimes, she spent wonderful moments with him, other times there was this something hanging between them that made those times really awkward …

If only she could understand what was going on…

She shook her head and finished to lace her last costume for the final scene in Phoenixia: The weddings. It was white and silver with exquisite embroideries strewn over the bodice and the outer skirt. After a last check on her appearance, she went to wait for her cue to step on stage.

Feeling quite nervous as she always was since her accident when she had to dance in the main auditorium, she breathed in and out deeply, slightly humming along with the music, shaking her feet one after the other to relax her ankles.

The final scene went by quickly and without much problems and they waited for the lights to dim before going backstage and waiting for their cue to come and salute.

Black, Lupin and Sinistra had them go other some of the trickier parts to refine their synchronization. They then were allowed them to go shower and change, freeing them for their evening classes or independent practices.

Harry came out from the changing rooms that were, hair still wet from his shower and stepped in the Hall, stopping as he spotted Emily standing next to a tall man with long brown hair that curled slightly and reached his shoulder blades. He was dressed in a pair of dark pants with a white shirt. From the arm draped around Emily's waist, Harry surmised that it must be Trent and sighed.

He couldn't really ignore them, he had been raised better than that, but he couldn't say that the thought of talking to her appealed to him.

He stopped next to her and put her bag down.

"Hello Emily, Jonathan, I assume. I see you're fine…" He said nodding to the both of them.

Emily straightened herself and smiled tightly to her ex-boyfriend.

"That was a lovely rehearsal, Harry. You are getting even better if it is even possible."

Harry shrugged, uncomfortable with her presence. He did not know how to act with her. If he was truthful with himself, he was still a bit sore from their break-up.

"Thank you Emily. I heard that people are awaiting your premiere…"

She nodded.

"Yeah, you can't imagine how nervous I am.

Both fell silent.

"So what happens now, Harry? Are you still angry with me?"

Harry sighed, racking his hand through his hair.

"I can't say I'm really glad to see you Emily… and I can't say you didn't hurt me."

Emily got a mulish glint in her eyes that Harry knew all to well.

"I was just honest with you, Harry. I didn't want to pretend something that I was no longer feeling… It was hard only being second in your life and Jonathan has been treating me like a princess…" She shot a smile at Jonathan. "Well I don't suppose that you want to hear about it…"

Harry shrugged.

"Good for you Emily, at least I can see you are just as tactful as ever."

Emily just rolled her eyes.

"Don't be a child, Harry. We are both old enough to be civil to each other…"

Harry tightened his lips together.

"Why are you here, Emily? I don't think you have that much spare time, in particular spare time to dedicate to visit an ex- that…," he started a bit snappishly before being cut by a hand on his arm. Turning, he saw Hermione was back from the changing rooms, her wet hair gathered in a messy bun, a few locks clinging to her face.

"Harry, I-… Oh! Sorry to interrupt. How are you Emily?" she asked a bit testily.

"I'm fine… You were fabulous on the stage," answered the young actress. "This is Jonathan." She said introducing the young man standing by her side.

"Thank you, Happy to meet you" Hermione said, flushing. "Well, I'll wait for you in Studio three, Harry."

"I won't be long."

She nodded and shifted her sport bag before leaving the entrance Hall.

Emily watched with a small smile as Harry followed her until the doors closed on her back.

"You like her, don't you?"

Harry looked back at her, startled out of his musings.

"No I-… We're just good friends, Emily," he sighed, "and she happens to be my dance partner."

"Denial, Harry… I just think that you two would be great. She can probably understand you more than I and since you are both crazy about ballet, I don't think she would mind not always being first in your heart."

Harry shook his head.

"Hermione is a great person, Emily but we are only friends, don't try to see things that do not exist."

Emily frowned.

"Lying doesn't become you, Harry. Try to tell me that you don't fancy her one bit, go on, try."

"I do not fancy her," he replied with a flat voice.

"Then, you are a fool."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Even if I did, I don't want it to come in the way of our friendship… I'm sure I'm just a good friend to her. And with everything going on for her at the moment, I don't want to add one more thing for her to worry about… "

"Boys…" sighed Emily. "I think having someone to comfort and help her would be good for her,"

"Maybe, but…"

"Harry, if you do not make the first step, you risk having someone else do it. I'm not blind and I can see there are many dancers here who wouldn't mind having a go at her…"

Harry frowned.

"I think it is nothing of your business, Emily."

The young woman shrugged.

"This is just my point of view. But I would get a move if I were you…"

"Emily…"

She raised her hands.

"Alright, alright… stay in Denialland if it makes you happy…"

Harry shouldered his bag.

"I need to go. We still have quite a lot of work for our gala…"

Emily nodded.

"Of course, Jonathan and I will be coming and I heard through my uncle that your parents and the company were going to be present too."

Harry nodded.

"Yes, there will be scouts both for Phoenixia and for the gala."

"Are you aiming for a company in particular?"

Harry shook his head.

"No, my parents and I have already something planned…"

Emily raised an eyebrow then realized what he meant.

"So you'll do it then?"

The young man nodded.

"Yes, my parents and their friends will help me at first…"

Emily gave him a tight smile.

"I wish you luck then… I hope that this movie opens doors for me…"

Harry frowned.

"But you said that Jonathan…"

She nodded.

"Yes, he wants to play with me again, but I would like to get cast for myself and not because I happen to be Jonathan's girlfriend." She looked up to Trent and smiled gently.

Shifting his bag a little, Harry sighed.

"I can relate to the feeling. But I don't worry for you, you'll succeed."

"Thanks…"

Silence fell on them.

She looked at her watch.

"Well… I should go… I'm on a rather tight schedule…" she paused then took two thick pieces of paper. "Those are two invitations for the premiere in Glasgow in a week... I know it's not really the closest town, but that the only one doing a premiere that wasn't too far away. I also sent two of them to your parents and they agreed to come."

Harry did some mental counts then smiled.

"I should be able to go."

She returned his smile.

"Thank you. Tell me what you'll think of it, please?"

Harry nodded and pocketed the two invitations.

"Well, I'll go now. Good luck for your premiere and take care."

She nodded.

"Same for you, Harry. See you at the gala."

Harry smiled tightly before walking away to Studio Three.

However he couldn't get what Emily had said out of his head… The next day was a Sunday and as such there weren't any scheduled rehearsals though the students were free to work in the studios or the auditoriums by themselves.

He stayed alone for the day, needing to think. Skipping dinner, he went to the kitchen to grab a sandwich then made his way outside to clear his head.

However things weren't any clearer when he came back inside.

Wandering through the corridors, he came to a stop when he heard music coming from the Small auditorium. It was used for auditions, examinations, castings since it could only hold one hundred people at most.

He easily recognized the music and had to repress a smile as he spotted the object of his thoughts on the stage. She was currently working on the solo of Kalia. He watched as she moved around the stage, lost in the music, and a small smile made its way on his face.

She was beautiful, not in the canon way, but beautiful nonetheless and if Harry was truthful he quite liked it.

Maybe Emily was right… If he was honest with himself, he didn't really behave in the way towards Hermione than towards his other female partners…

But to say that it might mean something more…

He didn't want this, whatever it might be, to ruin their friendship.

He leaned on the wall and kept on watching her as she skipped to another part of the ballet: Kalia's return to life if Harry wasn't mistaken.

As time passed Harry came to realize that their friendship would not be the same anyway. After what Emily had said, he wouldn't be able to behave as he had before without second guessing everything he did. So why not give this a try?

Silently, he walked to the CD player, glad that Hermione had only lit on the stage light. Quickly rummaging through the pile of CDs, he found what he wanted and set it on the second track of the CD player and set it to start playing once the piece Hermione was currently performing would end..

Then he quietly made his on stage and stayed behind the curtains, observing the young woman.

He knew what he wanted now.

°¤o¤°¤o¤°¤o¤°¤o¤°¤o¤°¤o¤°¤o¤°¤o¤°¤o¤°¤o¤

Hermione finished her part as she rose on her pointes, doing an arabesque before slowly wrapping her right leg around her left to slowly turn, her arm rising in crown position above her head before she slid on the ground still turning slowly on herself to end in fourth position, her right leg in front, her right arm still up in crown position while her left one had fallen to second position, her eyes fixed on her right hand.

As the last note ended, she let out a sigh and her arm fall to her side before taking off her pointes and massaging her feet then starting to stretch her legs.

However she frowned as she did not hear the familiar sounds of Kalia's and Istyan's duet which should have been the music piece following this solo. In its place, a definitively Spanish tune was playing itself… A tango if she was no mistaken.

Before she could think more about it, a hand appeared in front of her.

Startled she looked up to see a smiling Harry.

"May I have this dance?"

Not really understanding what he meant, she tilted her head on the side.

"Harry, what?..."

He crouched done next to her and took her hand, still smiling. Drawing her up, he repeated his question, his eyes fixed on hers.

"Hermione, May I have this dance?"

Mind whirling about Harry's strange behaviour, Hermione nodded, not really understanding what was going on and a bit scared of knowing it.

Immediately, she knew something was different.

While they had danced the tango before, it had never had this intensity. Harry was holding her tightly, pressing her body to his own, his right hand resting on the small of her back. His eyes were holding hers and she found she couldn't look away.

He led through the steps of the dance, and Hermione understood why this was called Lover's dance. They glided across the stage together, movements perfectly in tune. Startled at first, she slowly started to imitate him, pouring the same intensity to her moves.

Then the music switched to a more languorous rhythm. Harry's attitude shifted slightly as he pressed her tightly against him, their dance taking a more sensual turn. He made her turn and had her against him, with her back to his chest, his hands holding hers, his arms crossed in front of her. Turning her to him he dipped her backward, following her, their faces a few centimetres apart. He straightened both of them and resumed their dance, holding Hermione even tighter if it was possible as they moved as one.

Harry used every trick he had learnt about Tango, every move he could think of, his eyes never straying from those of his partner.

Finally, as he heard the music coming to an end, he made her twirl before dipping her backwards with him hovering above her.

Both of them were slightly out of breath but none of them was looking away.

Hermione watched with trepidation as he leant closer, his green eyes getting even more intense. Her stomach was doing flip flops and her heart was beating so hard she was sure it would jump out of her chest soon.

"Harry…"

She was silenced as he freed her hand and brought a finger above her lips.

"Hermione…"

Slowly leaning closer, giving her the opportunity to stop him, he brought his lips to hers in a gentle, timid kiss.

Straightening both of them upward, breaking the kiss, he placed his hands on the small of her back as she brought hers to his neck. Leaning closer and closing his eyes, he kissed her once more.

Feeling her relaxing, he deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue to her lips. He felt her opening her mouth hesitantly and gently coaxed her into responding.

After a few moment of blissful snogging, he pulled away a little but did not let go of her waist.

"Hermione, I…" He paused then continued. "I won't say I'm sorry I did that because I'm not. However I don't want you to feel forced in this… So if you don't want to… I'd understand…."

Hermione stared at him, brain starting to catch up with what had happened. She couldn't believe that Harry… Harry Potter had kissed her…

"Why?"

Harry frowned lightly.

"Why what?"

She shook her head, trying to think clearly.

"Why did you kiss me?"

Harry chuckled lightly.

"Someone made me realize that you were not only a friend to me…" he paused thinking on how to explain something he didn't understand

that well himself. "I-I like you a lot Hermione. You're nice, intelligent, beautiful… I like spending time with you, talking with you… Dancing with you."

Hermione would have smiled if she hadn't been that shaken by what had just happened.

She thought of her current relationship with Harry. She was very aware of his good-looks after all she had often envied Emily.

She knew she felt different with him that she did with Ron or Draco…

"Hermione?" She looked up to see Harry watching her expectantly, fidgeting. "so, will- er- will you go out with me?"

She took a deep breath. She had known from the start what would her answer but that did not make it any easier.

"Harry, I-…"

His face closed a little. However she didn't let him cut her.

"I'm willing to give this a try. But it can't come in the way of our work, do you understand? I would be glad to be your girlfriend, but I don't want this to hinder our practice or studies…"

A wide smile broke on Harry's face.

"I couldn't agree more… Then, you won't mind if I kiss you again…" Without leaving her time to answer, he brought her close to him and

kissed her.

They parted and Hermione looked at the mural clock seeing it was already past curfew.

"We need to go…"

"I'll walk you to your room."

She gathered her things and shouldered her bag. Harry took her hand and they made their way back to her room. As they stopped in front of it, she put her bag down and unlocked her door. She then turned to Harry.

"Well, then, I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Same time?" asked Harry.

She nodded.

He cupped her face and kissed her gently.

"Good night then and sweet dreams," he said lowly after pulling away.

"To you too," she whispered. She freed herself from his embrace, pecked him on the lips and stepped in her room, closing the door behind her. She slumped against it, he heart thumping in her chest.

She wanted to pinch herself… Harry Potter had just asked her out…. And she had said yes….

Shaking her head, she changed and went to bed. Things would be clearer after a good night's sleep.

However sleep was long to come and morning came way too soon for her taste.

She got up and dressed for her run, taking more care than usual in her appearance, not that sport wear could be form fitting, but she made

sure her ponytail was done as nicely as possible. She rolled her eyes at herself, really she was being ridiculous, but that did not stop her from glancing in the mirror as she left.

She took her water bottle and her apple and hurried down to the lake.

She smiled as she spotted, but couldn't help feeling nervous. What if he had changed his mind and realised that there were much nicer girls

around?...

She spotted Harry stretching next to a bench, a water bottle and a banana put under it.

She couldn't repress the giddy relieved feeling that shot through her as he got up from the bench he was sat on and walked to her, smiling.

Embracing her, he kissed her.

"Good morning to you, Hermione."

She leant her head on his shoulder.

"To you too, Harry."

"I hope you slept well."

She nodded, relishing being in his arms.

"I did, but now, I think we should get a move on… unless you want to miss breakfast?"

Harry shook his head widely.

"Perish the thought!"

Placing her sweater on the bench, Hermione started to stretch, joined by Harry. A few minutes later they began jogging side by side at their usual pace. Once they reached their daily number of laps, they finished with a little sprint which Harry won.

Making a little victory jump, he walked to his bench and drank from his bottle.

Both of them were panting and sweating profusely: May was coming to an end and the weather had been quite warm for a few days. Add to that that the sun was rising a bit earlier every day and it made their jogs more taxing on them.

They started to stretch, talking.

"It's getting hot, isn't it?"

Hermione nodded.

"Yes, it is. The temperatures are a little high compared to the average…" she answered, stretching her right thigh.

"By the way, I think I was the one to win our little race," he started, smiling.

"Yes, so?"

"So, it's in my opinion that I deserve a prize…"

Hermione rolled her eyes… "And what do you have in mind?..."

Harry let go of his left foot and swiftly took her in his arms.

"Something like this, for example…" He kissed her and quickly snaked his tongue in her mouth. Startled at first, Hermione quickly responded. After a minute, they pulled away, and Hermione gave him a swat on the head.

"You're not finished stretching, and we need to hurry or we can say goodbye to our breakfast."

Holding his hands up in surrendering, Harry went back to his stretching, not without stealing another quick kiss.

After a few more minutes, they gathered their things and started to make their way back inside holding hands. They reached the staircase leading up to the dorms.

As they reached Hermione's door, she dropped his hand to get her pass from her pocket.

Sliding in the slot above the door knob, she waited for the light to shift to green before opening the door.

Turning to face Harry, she smiled at him.

"I'll see you at breakfast then."

He nodded.

"I'll wait for you down the stairs."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to, not that I don't appreciate the thought but…."

Harry brought a finger to her lips.

"Shush, I want to," he stated calmly, "unless you don't want to be seen with little old me?"

Hermione swatted him on the head.

"Don't be an idiot. I should be the one saying this. Girls would kill for being your girlfriend…"

Harry shook his head.

"Then we'll agree to disagree," he said with a smile, taking a hold of her right hand.

Hermione just smiled, gave him a quick peck on the lips before slipping in her room.

She went straight to the bathroom and took a quick shower. As she dried herself, she went to her wardrobe to pick her clothes for the day.

She would never admit it, but she took more time to decide than usual. Finally getting fed up with her hesitancy, she picked her favourite pair of jeans and a cute hazel top she had been told brought out her eyes.

Once she was dressed, she gathered her hair in a neat low ponytail then started to braid it. Tying the end, she then started to roll it around the base of the ponytail, fixing it firmly with hair pins as she went. Checking herself in the mirror to be sure nothing was wrong, she then picked her bag and hurried downstairs to meet Harry.

He was leaning against the wall, dressed in jeans and a white tee-shirt, his black hair still damp from his shower was sticking in every direction.

He straightened upon noticing her. Taking her hand, he kissed her gently.

"You look great."

"Flatterer."

"How can I be when I speak the truth?" he said, pushing away a small strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. 

Hermione returned his smile hesitantly, not really knowing how to act, this being new to her. What if Harry decided that she wasn't good enough…

She was distracted from her musings as Harry kissed her once more.

"Don't think so much, Mione."

Hermione swatted him on the head.

"Don't butcher my name, mister, you don't see me calling you Har or Ry, do you?"

"But I called you Mione before…" said Harry frowning.

"I don't really like that nickname, and only let friends use it… after all my name is not that easy to pronounce."

"But then, why can't I?...

Hermione shot him a shy smile.

"You're not only my friend now, Harry, unless I misunderstood what you said yesterday."

Harry laughed.

"Alright, you got me there, but can I come up with my nickname for you?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"If you want too, as long as it is nothing too sugary…"

Harry smiled and kissed her on her nose.

"Alright, I will try to think of something…"

Hermione rolled her eyes and shot a look at her watch.

"Well, we should go or there will be nothing left for us."

They quickly reached the Great Hall's doors and entered hand in hand.

There weren't a lot of people around at that time aside from the early risers and part of the school's staff. They took their trays and put some food on it before going to sit at their usual table, keeping some seats for their friends.

They both ate in comfortable silence. Harry lifted his head up to look at the Teachers' table. He noted with relief that Snape was absent, having probably finished already. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick as well as a few others were also not there. However he easily spotted Remus and Sirius, the latter looking like the canary that had eaten the canary. They were seated next to Sinistra and Dumbledore whose eyes were twinkling madly and the two of them were wearing big smiles. Harry knew he wasn't going to hear the end of it, his godfather would only be too happy to tease him… And get his father to join on it.

He looked down and groaned softly.

"What's the matter?"

He looked up at Hermione who was watching him with concern.

"Nothing, just that my godfather is going to be a real nightmare about the two of us…"

Hermione paled a little at that.

Like everyone in Hogwarts, she had learnt that getting on Sirius Black's bad side was definitively something to avoid. Marcus Flint had learnt it the hard way.

He had thought himself funny to talk back to Sirius and try to show off by trying a stunt the teacher had forbidden them to do then.

Besides the immediate punishment and shouting Marcus had earned himself, his suffering had not ended that quickly.

Sirius had taken on partnering him with the worst girls and using him as demonstration for all his lower classes. He was also surprisingly always a volunteer when it came to chaperoning children during discovery classes.

Harry placed a hand over hers.

"Hey… I didn't mean it like this Hermione. He will be thrilled about us, he never really liked Emily…" he said with a bitter smile. "He's just

going to enjoy teasing us and will probably get my dad on it too."

Hermione was relieved upon hearing this. Teasing, she could handle, though hearing about Harry's dad made her nervous what if they didn't like her.

She shook her head. One thing at a time… Thinking about meeting the parents was a bit early, they had been dated for barely a day.

They resumed their breakfast and were soon joined by Ginny and the others as students started to fill the Hall. Soon the walls were echoing

with lively chatter.

Ginny slumped next to Hermione.

"I hate mornings."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"And don't you roll your eyes at me, Hermione."

The young woman didn't deign answering, knowing it would fall on deaf ears.

Breakfast was quickly over and soon people started to leave for classes.

Harry and Hermione went to clear their trays and walked back to their table to wait for their friends to finish.

A few minutes later, they all stood up and headed for the History classroom for their first lesson.

Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and squeezed it gently when he felt her tense a little.

"Relax Hermione," he said lowly.

Hermione looked down.

"Sorry, it's just that I really don't know how to act… This is quite new to me."

Harry shook his head.

"Don't apologise, I understand. But you know, you shouldn't worry that much. I like you as you are…"

"But…"

"No but. We'll take this at your pace. Just stop thinking too much and let things come in their time. Though the not thinking part might be a little difficult," he added teasingly.

"Why, you little!"

She used her free hand to try to hit him in the shoulder but he was quicker than she was and caught he wrist.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, resorting to violence are we Miss Granger?"

She struggled a little trying to wrench her hands free. However Harry had tightened his hold on them and wasn't letting go.

"Harry, let me go… Harry!"

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't think so Mademoiselle, you need to pay for your deed."

He kissed her lightly on the lips before letting her go.

"Now we are even."

Hermione shook her head.

"Now come on, you big kid."

They resumed their walking only to see their friends watching them with looks ranging from surprised to smug.

Ginny crossed her arms and pulled her most intimidating face.

"And when were you going to tell us about this?"

A guilty look crossed Hermione's face.

"Well, you see…"

Ginny seemed to think this was taking too long and walked with Padma to her friend.

Both took one arm each and dragged her away tuning out her protests.

Harry, Ron and Draco could only watch them, gaping.

Draco was the first one to shake himself out of it.

He shot a smirk at Harry.

"So you and Hermione?"

Harry nodded, smiling.

Draco's smirk widened and he turned to Ron that was scowling at his dark haired friend.

"Pay up Weasley."

Ron rolled his eyes and took out his wallet grumbling.

"Here is your money, you leech."

Harry raised an eyebrow at this.

"I don't want to know, just make sure she never hears of this or you'll be dead men."

Draco pocketed his money and smiled at Harry.

"Not my fault he never learns, so when did it happen?" he said as they walked to Binn's classroom.

"Last night."

"I'm happy for the both of you." He paused for a minute before speaking lowly. "However I'll make something clear, Potter. She's not

someone for playing. So if you're not serious about this relationship break it now and make it clean. I won't have you hurt her, got it?"

Draco's eyes were dead serious and Harry noticed that Ron's was mirroring his face.

He rolled his eyes.

"Enough with the drama, guys. I happen to really like and admire Hermione. I will not hurt her if I can help it."

Draco looked in his eyes and seemed to be satisfied.

"Good, brotherly duties fulfilled."

The three dancers resumed their walk to the History classroom and took their seats, saving three for the girls that had yet to arrive.

They arrived seconds before the bell rang and hurried to the seats besides the boys.

Hermione looked quite annoyed as she stepped in the room followed by Ginny and Padma who were trying to get her to slow down.

She sat next to Harry and got her things out.

"Rough time?"

Hermione just sighed.

"I apparently broke one of the cardinal rules in the Girl Handbook. I swear they are worse than the Spanish inquisition…"

"They will calm down… Binns would be able to make a raging lion go to sleep." He took his hand and squeezed it to comfort her.

Hermione smiled half heartedly.

They both quietened as Binns started to drone out the day's review. The exams would take place next week, then they would have one

more week of intensive rehearsals before the Gala.

Harry took out his history book, knowing that Hermione would not let him sleep this hour away as many did. He took out two small earplugs and put them on before concentrating on his text.

Some time later, he noticed people packing and took out his earplugs. Finally, it was the end of the lesson. He packed everything and waited for Hermione, taking her hand as they walked to Hooch's room

Padma and Ginny wisely kept their distances.

Both Harry and Hermione were not unaware that many turned to glance their way before starting whispering

Trying not to let them get to him, he concentrated on his girlfriend.

Even though she didn't have the stunning blond beauty of Fleur or was as nice-looking as Emily, Ginny or some other girls, but she was beautiful to him.

She noticed him starring and smiled at him.

"Do I have something on my face?"

Harry just shook his head.

"No, I was just enjoying the view."

Hermione shook her head.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, mister."

"It was worth a try," he answered, smiling, opening the door for her. "Well, I'll see you in a few minutes."

Hermione nodded and in a bold move, at least for her, pecked him on the lips before hurrying to the changing rooms

Hooch's fitness session passed quickly, people were too busy trying to follow her orders to gossip, much to Hermione's relief.

As soon as Hooch freed them, everyone headed for the changing rooms. She wiped herself with a small towel before dressing herself.

"So Hermione, is it true?"

She turned to see that several girls were looking at her strangely.

"What?"

Parvati looked her up and down.

"Is it true that Harry asked you out?" she asked as if she couldn't believe it.

"He did," answered Hermione shortly.

Whispers broke around the room. Hermione sighed and looked to Parvati and Lavender that were looking at her with jealousy and scorn.

"Why?" she continued, "Do you have a problem with it?"

Parvati pursed her lips.

"Not really, just having a hard time understanding how someone like him can date someone like you…"

Hermione looked down, flushing at the veiled insult before looking up, jaw tightened.

"Well, maybe if you used your brain, you might be able to understand a basic sentence."

Ginny shot her a proud look as she finished packing her bag.

Parvati flushed.

"Listen you little…."

She wasn't able to say anymore as Padma stood up and went to stand in front of her twin.

"No, Vati, you listen. Leave Hermione alone, unless you want me to phone our parents… I'm sure they would be pleased to know what

you have been up to, wouldn't they?"

Parvati's lips tightened as she glared at her sister before she went back to pack her bag and left the room in a huff, soon followed by her

friends.

Hermione ignored the eyes on her and zipped up her bag before heading out of the room. The boys were waiting for them.

"What happened in there? We saw Parvati and her merry band of friends storm out of here."

Hermione shrugged and looked at Ginny and Padma that were coming behind her.

"Nothing, just some girl talks."

The boys chose not to pursue the matter and they all headed for McGonagall classroom. Hermione quickly changed into her ballet clothes

and laced up her shoes. Moving her ankles in a slow circle to make sure the shoes were laced correctly, Hermione tightened the left one a little before standing up and getting out of the change room.

Lavender shot a look towards the door and then to her friends but before she could do anything she crossed the fierce eyes of Ginny.

"Don't even think of it, Lavender. After all I'm sure Professor Snape would be really interested in knowing who stole from his labs."

The young woman flushed and quickly left the room shooting a murderous glare at the red-head.

Ginny finished getting ready with a smug smile.

McGonagall had them all warmed up quickly and soon put them through her gruelling routine.

As Hermione concentrated on her position, she thought she had never been ever so thankful for the old teacher's no nonsense attitude.

After a few snapping comments, she had her class subdued and silent except for the music filling the room. She passed through them, correcting those that needed to.

"Mr. Finnegan, straighten your back!"

She corrected the arm position of a girl then gave a sharp tap to Ron's leg.

"Pay attention to your leg, Mr. Weasley."

The red-head immediately corrected himself.

Even if the end of the year was near, the stern professor did not let down her vigilance. She rarely missed mistakes in her class and pushed them all to their limits. Once the lesson was over, they all headed to the rooms assigned for group rehearsals for the Gala. The afternoon would be dedicated to Phoenixia's rehearsals.

Hermione went back to the changing room to get her bag, not bothering to change since they had rehearsal just know.

She walked to Harry who was talking with Terry, Seamus and Justin. They had been divided in two groups. One would perform the Introduction and the Evil witch appearance while their group was performing the waltz. And they would all perform the Finale with Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory as Aurora and her Prince.

Slipping her hand in his, she offered him a smile as he turned to look at her.

"Ready to go?" she asked, nodding to the other three dancers.

"Whenever you are, milady."

"We're in Room 2, aren't we?"

Harry faked a sigh.

"Yes, with my darling godfather…"

Hermione snorted.

"Don't worry," she said, kissing him on the cheek, "I will protect you from big bad Sirius Black."

Seamus laughed.

"So how long have you two been together?"

Harry looked at him strangely.

"Why do you want to know?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Let me guess, Draco had a bet going on?"

Seamus tried to deny it, but the young Irish man couldn't lie to save his life.

Shaking her head, Hermione decided to ignore it, not that she wouldn't get back at Draco for betting on her love life.

Seamus decided to change the topic quickly before he compromised himself more than he had already had. They kept talking until they reached room 2.

Putting their bags into the changing rooms, they then went to stretch a little and warm up as well as going over some moves while waiting for everyone to arrive.

Sirius and Remus were already in the room and went straight for Harry as he noticed him going over some steps on his own as Hermione was rehearsing with the girls already present.

"So, How are things going on with your "friend"?" asked Sirius, smirking.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"You can stop right now, Sirius. And no need to be so smug about it."

Sirius shook his head.

"No, no, no, Harry." He shook his finger. "You won't get away that easily… So who was right?..."

Harry chose to ignore him.

"Harry, Harry…"

Remus rolled his eyes.

"Sirius, I think you have better things to do at the moment than annoy and embarrass your godson."

The black-haired man looked at his colleague.

"You're spoiling my fun."

"And you are wasting time," the sandy-haired professor retorted.

Sirius shook his head and walked to the front of the room.

"Alright, everyone, I leave you five more minutes to warm up and then you'll perform your scene once and we'll go over the parts that need to be worked."

Hermione walked to Harry and they went over a few steps together, tuning their moves to the other. Then they did a few a the trickier lifts they had to perform.

They were working on their turns when Sirius asked them all to take their positions. Surveying the room, he corrected a few of them before putting on their music.

They started to move, watched by Sirius and Remus.

Hermione let herself enjoy this moment as she glided around the room, tightly held in Harry's arm. The young man always relaxed her when she danced.

For the following hours, Sirius had them go over parts of their dance times and times.

"One last time please," said Remus. "Miss Abbot, be careful with your arms during your jumps. Mr. Finch-Fletchey, please try not to look too afraid when carrying your partner and do not slouch."

He watched as the students kept on dancing.

"Very good Mr. Zabini. A smile please Miss Greengrass, better."

Finally the music came to an end and Hermione held her position until Sirius motioned to them to relax.

"Good. Tomorrow we will go over it a few times to make sure you did not forget everything we corrected today. Then we will review your

pieces for your graduation exam. Thank you for your attention."

The students all started stretching in small groups, discussing today's session and what they were doing this afternoon.

Hermione was leaning on the leg she had placed on the barre while talking to Harry.

"So ready for this afternoon?"

Harry shrugged.

"I think so… Or at least I hope Sinistra won't be on my back too much."

"As if she would, on the other hand Ron and Seamus will probably suffer."

They talked lightly for a few minutes before Harry remembered the two invitations that Emily had given him.

"Hermione are you free next Wednesday?"

She looked at him strangely.

"Well, yes… Why do you ask?"

Harry smiled.

"Emily gave me two invitations for her movie's premiere in Glasgow next week. If it is alright with you and the Headmaster, I'd like you to

accompany me."

Hermione was a bit torn.

She knew it wasn't really a good idea to pull something like that this close to the Gala, but the thought of an evening out with Harry was really appealing.

"Well, if the Headmaster agrees to it, then I'll be glad to go with you."

Harry smiled widely and cupped her face, kissing her.

"Thank you,"

Hermione returned his smile.

"I should be the one to thank you."

Harry didn't answer as he bent forwards, his chest touching his thighs, his hands grabbing hold of his ankles.

He stayed this way for a few moments before straightening himself and stretching his arms up.

He turned to Hermione.

"You're done?"

Making several circles with her head, she then stopped and nodded.

"Yes, Just need to change."

"I'll meet you outside the room," he said, eyeing his godfather warily.

Hermione chuckled. After kissing him lightly, she headed for the changing rooms.

A few minutes later they were making their way to the Hall for their lunch. Ginny and the others were waiting for them. Ron looked quite upset as he speared his food.

Taking a seat next to them, Hermione shot a look at Ginny.

"Sinistra," said the red-head as an explanation.

Hermione stifled a laugh.

Ron looked up at her.

"Not funny Hermione. She's been on my back the whole time…"

It was well known that Sinistra liked to focus on one people, usually the first one that would make a mistake in her lesson.

Deciding to avoid this subject, Hermione told her friends about the premiere.

Ginny squealed at the news and immediately started to plan what she was going to wear.

Once lunch was over, they went to the auditorium for their afternoon rehearsal. The rest of the week went in the same fashion. Hermione tried to ignore the fuss the tabloids made about her relationship with Harry since people saw it fit to inform them of this development. She was happy that her mail was now being screened since she dreaded to think of the amount of hate mail from heartbroken fan girls she would have gotten otherwise.

Her mother had phoned her to get her side of the story and had been reassured once Hermione had been finished explaining. That didn't

stop her from giving Hermione a new rendition of the Talk.

On the day of the premiere, she left the rehearsal early in order to get ready. Both her and Harry had been allowed to leave the school grounds for the occasion. James and Lily Potter would drive them to and back from Glasgow since they had too received invitations.

Hermione showered a bit longer than usual, using some hair care product to tame her hair as Ginny had showed her. Drying herself she then got dressed. Ginny had convinced her to wear the dress Mrs Malfoy had gifted her with as well as her grandmother's amber set.

Thanks to the product Ginny had got her, her hair was a mass of ringlets instead of its usual bushy self. Taking a few hair pins, she twisted

the strands falling in front of her face and pinned them on her head's side, only leaving a few to frame her face. Fixing her hair with some spray, she then put on her make up. Some golden eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner, a touch of blush and some gloss for her lips were all she

used.

Putting on her jewellery, she was trying to clasp her bracelet when she heard someone knock on the door.

"Coming."

Holding the bracelet in one hand, she walked to the door and opened it to reveal a smiling Harry.

She took in his outfit. Black tailored pants, a shimmering emerald green shirt and a black jacket: the outfit outlined his body and only made him look even more handsome.

"You look wonderful, Hermione," he said, "This is for you," he added, handing her a single red rose.

She blushed and smiled at him. Taking the rose, she kissed him softly.

"Thank you very much. And you don't look that bad yourself… Come in, I just have to put on this blasted bracelet, take my shawl and I'm

done."

Harry nodded.

"Don't worry my parents won't be there before ten minutes." He saw her place the rose in a vase and fill it with water. Then she struggle

with the clasp of her bracelet.

Coming behind her, he took the two hands of the bracelet.

"Allow me," he whispered, gently closing the bracelet before kissing her neck.

Hermione shivered a little but leaned against him, trusting him.

Holding her in his arms, Harry sighed happily, looking at the clock, he saw that they needed to go or they would be late.

Kissing her on her temple, he let her go.

"We should go, Glasgow is not that close."

Hermione nodded. Taking the beige shawl waiting on a chair, she took Harry's hand and they both left her room, heading to the castle's

entrance once Hermione had made sure her door was locked.

They reached the castle entrance with a few minutes to spare.

Harry leaned against the wall to watch his date who was fussing on her dress.

"Hermione?"

She looked at him.

"You are aware there might be some journalists at the premiere, aren't you."

Hermione nodded with a sigh.

"Yes, though I wish they would leave us alone…"

They heard a car pull up and went outside, Harry's arm circling Hermione's waist.

Harry's parents exited the car and smiled at the two youths.

Harry hadn't needed to tell them about Hermione since Sirius had called them the first day. They had phoned him to know what was going on as the tabloids had a field day with this piece of news. The surprising thing was that Skeeter remained strangely silent about the whole thing. However giving the smirk on Draco's face, Lucius Malfoy might not be stranger to this development.

Harry embraced both of them before taking Hermione's hand.

"Mum, Dad, you remember Hermione?"

They both nodded to the brown-haired ballerina.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Hermione, Harry has told us much about you."

Hermione glared a little at him, blushing. She took the hand James Potter offered her.

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter."

"Oh dear! Call me Lily please, Mrs. Potter makes me thing of James' mother."

Hermione smiled.

"I'll try, Mrs.-I mean Lily."

James chuckled a little.

"Don't scare her, Lily, not come on, you don't want to be late, don't you?"

They all climbed in the car and James started the car.

The drive went by pleasantly, James and Lily asking about the school, the coming Gala, the teachers. James told them a few of his

adventures in Hogwarts.

Finally they arrived to Glasgow and went to park the car to the private parking under the theatre.

"The advantage of being famous," stated James with a drawl, making his wife chuckle.

They got out the car and took the lift, bringing them to the entrance of the theatre.

Flashes immediately went out.

Harry leaned on Hermione, placing his arm around her waist as he did so.

"Welcome to the great circus."

Hermione had a hard time refraining herself from laughing. Harry smiled, happy to have gotten her to relax and steered her towards the

stairs.

The Potters went to take their seats. James and Lily went to greet a few acquaintances as Harry stayed with Hermione.

Slowly people trickle inside and sat, chatting quietly. Finally the lights went out and the movie started.

Two hours later the lights went back.

Hermione smiled up at Harry. She had put her head on his shoulder during the movie and he had snaked his arm around his waist.

"You alright?"

She nodded and pulled away, rising to her feet.

"So what did you think of it?" Harry asked as he wrapped her shawl around her.

"It was a good movie… Emily does have talent. The plot was a bit weak though but the stunts made up for it. Did she perform all of them?"

Harry shook his head.

"She did those on horses and the easier ones, she had doubles when it was too dangerous."

Hermione nodded and they made their way back to the car with Harry's parents.

The drive back was quiet. Feeling quite tired, Hermione fell asleep half-way through it.

Carding his fingers through her hair, Harry shifted her in a more comfortable position for the both of them.

"You seem very happy with her, Harry," said Lily, smiling.

"I am, mum."

"Then I'm happy for you both."

They arrived at Hogwarts around one in the morning. The Headmaster had given them a pass to be able to enter the school upon their

return.

"I'll walk you up to your room."

They slowly walked up the stairs in comfortable silence. They finally reached Hermione's room.

Taking out her pass, she put it in the box next to her but nothing happened. Frowning, she put it again and clenched the doorknob.

The door opened.

"You did not close it when you left?" asked Harry.

"I'm sure I did… You were there anyway…"

Harry passed his hand through his hair.

"You're right, but then?..."

He paused and pushed the door and stood stunned in the doorway.

Hermione stifled a gasp.

Her room was turned upside down. Everything had been thrown around, torn, broken. The curtains were lying down, torn from their

hangers. Her books were lying around, pages torn from them.

Words like slut or whore were written on the walls in red paint.

He heard a gasp.

Hermione was pale as a ghost, the arm holding the door trembling.

Harry turned on his heels.

"Come on, Hermione. You don't need to see this. I'm sure Ginny won't mind if you stay in her room for tonight."

"B-But… I-I… I need to…"

"No you go to Ginny's. I will go warn people."

She nodded, obviously going into shock.

He walked her to Ginny's room and knocked loudly.

After several knocks, the door flew open.

"Do you know what time…" she started, obviously incensed. She stopped when she saw an obviously distraught Hermione supported by a

shaken Harry.

"I'm sorry Ginny, but can Hermione stay with you tonight?"

"What is going on?"

"Her room was destroyed."

"What?"

"Ginny, please… Not now… I'm going to warn Dumbledore."

She shook her head.

"No, go see McGonagall first, her room is down the aisle. She's the one chaperoning the girls' level this week."

She took Hermione's arm and drew her in her room.

"Now, go, I'll take care of her," she paused, "Harry… This is not the usual things going on… this is going further than harassment."

He nodded before heading down the corridor.

Fifteen minutes later, the police was present and was searching the whole room.

Inspector Moody was questioning all the girls living in the rooms close to Hermione's room while Kingsley was showing her, Harry and

Ginny the videos from the cameras placed in the corridor.

Around 11 pm, three people dressed in black and wearing white masks stopped in front of her room. The smallest of the three handed a white card.

Two of them, the tallest entered the room while the smallest stayed in the entrance, her head swirling from right to left.

"Enlarge the image." Kingsley asked one of his colleagues.

The man paused the video and zoomed.

The person was wearing black pants, a black long sleeved shirt and gloves.

"Zoom on the suspect and play the video, I thought I saw something," ordered Kingsley.

They all watch as the person kept looking for someone while her accomplices were trashing the room.

Suddenly Ginny spoke up.

"Stop it!"

The man immediately froze the video.

She flushed a little.

"I'm sorry could you go backward a little and zoom on the right wrist."

The man tapped quickly on his keyboard and soon the video played once more.

Ginny leaned forwards, concentrating.

"Stop."

The video froze.

"Can you zoom once more and focus the picture a bit more."

"I'll try…"

After a few more seconds, the wrist came into view.

"Here, you see, the bracelet!"

Harry frowned.

"So?..."

"You can't know, Harry, you haven't been here long enough. But Hermione, don't you recognize it? She couldn't keep flaunting it to us

when she got it…"

Hermione frowned then her eyes widened as she finally realized what her friends meant.

Ginny turned to Kingsley.

"I could recognize that bracelet anytime, it belongs to Marietta Hedgecombe. She's one year under us here."

Kingsley looked up.

"You're sure? You are aware you will be asked to testify."

Ginny nodded.

At that moment, Inspector Moody entered the small room.

"No prints, nothing major for now. The men that did it were professional and they were obviously looking for something."

Hermione shivered.

"But what! I've been living here for a year and this room has rarely been used since it's the one the furthest from the lift. I'm sure that it has

stayed empty for years before."

"That I don't know, Miss Granger. However I'm sure that Miss Hedgecombe will be able to shed some light on this…"

Kingsley turned to look at Albus Dumbledore.

"Headmaster, you won't object to have us talk to Miss Hedgecombe?"

The old man shook his head.

"As long as she is aware of her rights as a minor, I see no problems with that."

Soon enough a young girl was brought in the room.

Kingsley had her sit down.

"Headmaster, why am I here? What is happening?"

Inspector Moody snorted but was silenced by a dark look from his partner.

"Miss Hedgecombe you were recognized on a video as participating to the destruction of Miss Granger's room. Now as a minor you are allowed to call your parents or someone to represent you. Anything you will say may be used during prosecution."

The young girl looked at a shaking Hermione who was being held by Harry, Ginny standing by their side.

She looked at the detective.

"Can you insure my protection? Can you swear I will be protected?" There was a panicked edge in her voice.

"We can place you under our witness protection program, Miss, I take you wish to cooperate."

The young woman nodded.

"It started two years ago… The school was… was becoming too much for me." She paused, trying to compose herself. "I was able to

keep up with the school work but the dance was getting too much, I was barely able to keep up. My technique was average and I needed more time to remember the steps and so I needed to work late in the night several time… I wasn't able to get enough sleep so my school work started to drop." She gulped.

"During the summer, I kept practicing and I was getting exhausted… my friends dragged me to bars and discos to try to forget about it and

that's where I met him."

"Who?" Kingsley had started to record their interview.

"I only learnt his name later. He had heard me talking about my problems in school with my friends. He told me he could help me."

"How?"

"He said he could get me something to deal with the fatigue… He gave me some pills for free at first… and it worked. I was no longer tired.

I was able to practice I much as I needed without falling asleep during the day."

She paused.

"But at Christmas, he told me he could no longer give them to me for free and by that time I was addicted… I needed them."

"So what did you do?..."

"I did whatever I could to get enough money to get me my pills. I used all the money my parents sent me, I borrowed some. I sold some of

my things…"

"But this year after November, he told me he would get them for me for free if I followed his orders."

"What orders?"

"I was to get Hermione out of the school or at least out of her room. I don't know why… apparently there was something there he was

desperate to get back. So I used the hate letters, the threats."

"What about the packages, the destroyed costume?"

She nodded, tears going down.

"I tried to refuse him, but he threatened to stop giving me my pills and by that time I couldn't do without them…"

"So I did it…"

"What about the trap?" asked Moody.

She looked at Hermione with tearful eyes.

"I'm really sorry about that, but I thought if you were sent to the hospital then this nightmare would end. If I got you out of your room then he had sworn he would ask nothing else of me."

"You could have killed her," said Harry, tightening his grip on Hermione.

She shook her head.

"I didn't think of it, I just wanted this to end… but when it failed I needed to remain discrete, wait for everything to die down. Tonight was

a last attempt, I was hoping you would get scared enough and leave the school even if you didn't, you wouldn't be able to remain in your room and so would leave it open to him to search it…'

"Who were the two men with you?"

She shook her head.

"I don't know them, I was told to make them enter the school and show them to Hermione's room…"

"Do you still have some of those pills?"

"Yes, I got some two weeks ago…"

"I will need a few for analysis."

"Who is that man?" asked Moody

"He told me his name was Tom Riddle…"

Kingsley and Moody looked at her sharply.

"Can you repeat that name?"

"Tom Riddle."

Kingsley turned to the agent standing next to him.

"Tonks, get some men and search this room from floor to ceiling, take down the walls if needed. You're looking for some boxes showing a

skull with a serpent coming out of its mouth."

The woman with pink hair saluted and left the room.

Kingsley gestured to another woman.

"Miss Hedgecombe, Agent Kellerson will escort you back to your room and stay with you for your protection. Tomorrow you will be

escorted to St Mungo to be cured. You might be required to stay there for some time."

"B-But what about the exams? I-I can't…"

Dumbledore coughed lightly.

"Miss Hedgecombe, I think you should recover from this ordeal first."

"B-But…"

The agent called Kellerson gently made her stand up and led her outside.

Kingsley and Moody looked at Dumbledore then at the youths next to them.

"Children, we will allow you to stay only because we think Miss Granger needs to know the truth," started Kingsley.

"Yes, what you need to know is that Tom Riddle is a dangerous man. Miss Hedgecombe is not the first one to be tricked like this… This

put her into much danger, but now we should be able to draw him away from the school as soon as we will have put our hands on what he was after."

"But who is he?" asked Ginny.

"He is one of the more pre-eminent figure in the drug market… He goes by the surname of Lord Voldemort or You-know-who as people

of the underground are too scared to say his name…"

Kingsley nodded then stood up.

"We can't tell you much more. This is now out of our field. Miss Hedgecombe will probably be asked to testify and questioned as to who

she can identify. But this investigation will be directed by another department."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Her security will be guarantied, I hope."

"Yes, but for now, Miss Granger, I know it's difficult but do you wish to bring Miss Hedgecombe to court."

Hermione shivered a little, leaning more against Harry.

After a few seconds, she spoke up.

"Can I give you an answer tomorrow morning inspector."

Moddy nodded.

"Of course, just call us tomorrow. Now I think we will leave you get some rest if you can."

The youths stood up.

"If you need something to help you to sleep, you can go see Mrs. Pomfrey, Miss Granger."

The young woman looked undecided but finally shook her head.

"No, thank you Headmaster. However if it is possible I would like to have a friend with me."

"It is okay my dear, I'll have a spare bed sent to miss Weasley's room. We'll have your things sent there and any damages will be paid by

our insurances."

"Thank you Headmaster."

With that the three youths left the room, leaving the adults discuss what had happened.

The night was short for everyone and by the time of breakfast, most of the school knew of what had happened. Hermione went to have

breakfast, surrounded by her friends. They surrounded her at the table and prevented people from bothering her.

The morning rehearsals were cancelled but students were allowed to practice on their own if they wished. Hermione and her friends went to get a room for them. For some time they worked on their graduation dance before shifting to ballroom dancing to relax a little.

They were dancing a slow waltz when people entered the room.

They waited for the music to die down before making their presence known.

"Miss Granger?"

The young brown-haired ballerina turned sharply on her heel.

"Mum, Dad!"

She ran to them and hugged them fiercely.

Her mother hugged her back tightly.

Harry and the others watch the display silently not wanting to interfere.

After a few minutes, Hermione slowly withdraw from her mother's hug.

"I'm happy to see you both… you remember my friends?"

Her parents nodded, offering a small smile.

"So who is Harry? No let me guess… It's the dark-haired one, isn't it?"

Hermione blushed.

"Yes."

Harry walked to them and handed his hand to Mrs. Granger.

"Happy to meet you, Mrs. Granger, Mr. Granger."

They both shook his hand.

"Glad to finally get to meet you, we have heard a lot about you from Hermione."

Ron looked at his watch.

"Well it's nearly lunch time. Do you want to eat with us?"

The Grangers looked at Mrs. McGonagall who was standing in the doorway.

"I don't see any problem with this, Miss Granger."

They all went to the hall, Hermione talking quietly to her parents.

"Hermione are you sure you are fine?"

"Not really mum, but I will be…"

"You can come home if you want… I'm sure your Headmaster would understand."

Hermione shook her head.

"No, I want to stay and dancing is the best way for me to get my mind off from all of this."

"Are you sure, Hermione. You could finish you year later. After what you have been through I'm sure people would understand."

"No, mum. Please."

Cheryl Granger sighed.

"As you wish, my dear, but promise me you will call us if anything happen."

Hermione smiled at her mother.

"Thank you."

"No need, dear, I can see how much this means to you. Now on to other matters, I must say you know how to choose them, he is quite the

looker…"

"Mum!"

Cheryl just smiled.

Lunch went by quickly and the Grangers though they had been invited to come and watch the rehearsal decided to go back home.

The week leading to the presentation of Phoenixia passed in a blur of rehearsal, meeting with the hairdressers, the make up team. Hermione

had to meet with Mrs. Pince to try on her new Aurora costume.

In a way she was glad for all this activity. It kept her mind off what had happened and made her so tired in the evenings that she quickly fell

asleep then.

In the end she had decided not to pursue Marietta, on the condition that she went to a centre to deal with her addiction and did not

approach her again. A restriction order was then issued.

Two days before the presentation of Phoenixia, as she was involved in a rehearsal for a part of Phoenixia, Harry left the auditorium.

Unknowingly from her, he had asked for a meeting with the Headmaster.


	11. The year comes to an end

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize

A/N: This chapter was a bit of a pain to write, I must have gone over and rewrote it at least 3 times and I'm still not completely happy with it… but well, to be happy with it would mean developing the Riddle part of the story and I wanted it to be a short fluffy story, even if it was quite cliché, but well, sometimes cliché is good…

So before I start wanting to rewrite it again, I'll post this version which might be modified later on. Only the epilogue to go and Dance! will be over.

**Chapter 11****: The year comes to an end**

"Mr Dumbledore?"

"Enter, enter Mr Potter."

Harry stepped into the Headmaster's office, his eyes wandering from one trinket to another. Shaking his head, he looked at the man sitting behind the desk.

"Do sit down Mr Potter. Lemon drops?"

Harry shook his head with a smile. The man always tried to give his students his favourite sweets with little if no success.

"No thanks, sir."

"All the more for me then," he said, putting his tin box back into one the drawers. "So what brings you to my office, young man?"

"Well, I have a request regarding Phoenixia."

"Really?" Harry looked up into the man's twinkling eyes.

"Indeed. Why it was just yesterday that Miss Weasley came to see me regarding Phoenixia too. But please, my boy what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

Harry took a deep breath.

"Well, as you know I have already played the part of Istyan with my parents' company. As such I had quite the advantage over the other students. Moreover I do not need more exposure."

"Yes, your parents told me of your project."

"Exactly, so I wished to ask you if I could switch role with Draco. We have studied both roles as our professor will confirm. The ballet will not loose in quality and I think it's only fair to Draco as is I hadn't transferred he would have been the one to get it."

Dumbledore only smiled and turned on his interphone.

"Mr. Filch? If you could fetch me Miss Weasley, Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy and send them to my office, I would be quite grateful. Yes. Thank you."

They both waited for several minutes, the Headmaster asking him about his own project and his parents.

Finally, his three friends entered the office with slightly worried looks.

"Do sit down, you're not in trouble."

They all took a seat, Hermione shooting a small smile to her boyfriend.

"Well, I called you all here today because Miss Weasley yesterday and Mr. Potter today came to me with similar requests."

Both Ginny and Harry looked at each others in surprise.

"What request?" asked Draco.

"Well, both of them asked to switch role for Phoenixia, Miss Weasley with you, Miss Granger, and Mr. Potter with you Mr. Malfoy."

Hermione turned to Ginny.

"But you won that role fair and square, Ginny. You have to keep it. I have no right to ignore the judgement of the professors. They thought you were the best for Kalia's role, so it's yours!"

"Hermione, I've had the lead role for most of the past Gala's ballets. I think it's your time to shine for once. And don't tell me you can't. You heard Flitwick as well as me."

"My role will allow me to shine well enough. I do not need you to give me what you earned fair and square."

"Well, in that case, I might keep it if you perform a solo during the Gala." She retorted with a satisfied smile.

Hermione glared at her murderously.

Dumbledore rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I can't allow only one student to perform a solo. That would not be fair to your peers. However, I will ask McGonagall to have all her classes elect one student to represent their year and have them perform a small technical demonstration. It would be interesting for the audience to gauge the technical level of our classes."

Ginny smiled, already planning how to get all her peer to nominate Hermione.

"Regarding Phoenixia, I can't change the roles that were attributed by your professors. It would not be right and I would be flooded with demands for switches."

He held his hand as Harry and Ginny were about to protest.

"However I had been toying with this idea for quite a long time and this gives me the opportunity to set it up. If all goes well, Hogwarts will present the ballet a second time for ill-children and pupils of the ballet schools in the area for free."

The four youths looked at each other, surprised.

"That would be a great idea, sir," finally said Draco.

"I thought so, Mr Malfoy," replied the Headmaster with a smile. "For this occasion, I will let you decide who would play which role, just be sure to tell me it beforehand."

Ginny and Harry shared a look, before nodding.

"I think it'll all though out already, sir. We will just switch the role around. This way both Hermione and Draco will be able to perform the lead roles…"

The headmaster looked at the other two.

"Do you agree?"

Draco and Hermione looked at each other and shrugged.

"If they both agree, then, yes," said Hermione, while Draco nodded.

"Well then, I will be setting this up and a notice will probably be posted soon for your peers. Now, is there anything else?"

"No Sir," said Ginny, standing up.

The four friends left the headmaster's office after bidding the man a good day.

As soon as they were out of the office, Hermione turned to her friends.

"What were you thinking?"

Ginny placed her hand over her mouth, cutting her rant.

"Hermione, I really love you, but spare the lecture. Everything is fine."

Hermione pushed her hand away.

"I can't believe you went to Dumbledore with this!"

The younger girl shrugged, enjoying seeing her friend usually so collected being so unsettled.

"You deserve to shine, Hermione."

Her friend rolled her eyes.

"I've shone enough for my taste this year, Ginny."

"But it's important you show your talents to the directors of the companies that will come for the ballet."

Hermione didn't answer, knowing the young girl was right. But she had never had that much ambition to begin with.

"As long as I'm dancing I will be happy."

Ginny didn't answered, already planning how to get everyone to nominate her friend for that technical demonstration Dumbledore had proposed.

The next day passed in a flurry of rehearsals and excited talks as notices where put up for both the technical demonstrations and the 2nd presentation of Phoenixia.

Hermione knew that Ginny had been campaigning to have her as the seventh year nominee and just hope for once that Lavender or one of her clique would get it.

So it was quite nervously that she went to McGonagall's lessons, Harry by her side.

But the stern teacher made no announcement, starting her lesson as she always did, reprimanding several of the most distracted ones.

After a few cutting remarks and stern glances, everyone concentrated on the task at hand.

It was only as McGonagall had them stretching and cooling down that she finally broached the subject everyone had been waiting for.

"As you know, Headmaster Dumbledore has decided to have one student per year group perform a small technical demonstration. He left it to me to decide who those students would be. I have a few names in mind but will partly leave the choice to you."

She paused and pointed to a small table with a stack of small papers, a box and a few pens.

"Each of you will go and write two names on a paper and put it in the box. We will then go through them and if the one with the most votes to her or his name was one of those I thought of, then she or he will be the one performing. If not it will be the one with the most high number of votes and my own vote that will be chosen."

Whispers rose in the room as people went to take a paper, wrote on it then went to put it in the box.

The whole process took about ten minutes.

Once everyone had voted, McGonagall went and started to read them, as well as noting the name and number of votes to it on a piece of paper.

As more and more papers were read, Hermione's blush deepened. Her name kept being called, even though others also got their fair share of votes, in particular Ginny, Cedric, Harry and Parvati.

By the time the last paper was read, the result left little doubt as to the winner.

McGonagall turned to look at her, her face softening a little as she gazed at the ballerina who had quickly become one of her favourite that past year, not that she would ever admit to it.

"Well, Miss Granger, it seems you and I will be seeing quite a lot of each other for the coming weeks. Come see me in my office by 6 pm."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest but was stopped by a hard pinch to her side from Ginny.

"Yes, Madame." She managed to say while glaring at her friend.

"Very good, you're all dismissed."

All the youths slowly headed for the changing rooms, chatting.

Hermione was sulking, much to Ginny's amusement.

It was Lavender that finally spoke up.

"Hermione please shut up! Modesty might be nice but you're pushing a bit too far. Just thanks Ginny for her lobbying in your favour and smile."

She said, rolling her eyes while shouldering her bag. She left the room, her friends following her closely.

Looking down, Hermione sighed.

"Sorry, Ginny. It's not that I'm not grateful, but…"

The red-head just waved her hand.

"Don't worry about it, Hermione. Just smile and do your best."

The young woman nodded, placing her shoes in her bag.

A few minutes later, they all left for their next course, talking animatedly about what McGonagall might ask of her for the Gala.

By dinner's time, Hermione slumped in her chair next to Harry, shooting him a tired smile as he gave her a peck on her cheek.

"Tired?"

"I'm completely knackered, sore and I think my brain is starting to leak out."

"McGonagall?" enquired Ron.

Hermione nodded and started to eat slowly.

"Yes, you can't even imagine what routine she's came up with…"

"I don't even want to know. Now eat and then it's to bed with you," said Padma.

"Yes mother."

A few more days passed in a blur. Between the different rehearsals and her work with McGonagall, Hermione had barely any time for herself and for the first time was looking forwards the holidays.

The second presentation of Phoenixia would take place a week after the first one and one before the end of the year Gala.

Harry and her still managed to find a few moments to spend together alone. They both were enjoying getting to know the other better.

They had just finished their last rehearsal when Sirius called Hermione to him.

"Miss Granger?"

"Yes sir?"

"Headmaster Dumbledore asked me to tell you that you are expected in his office after dinner."

She nodded.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, shooting a worried look at Harry who had approached her.

Sirius shook his head, a small smile fleeting on his lips as he took in his godson and his girlfriend.

"Not at all. He wants to see you regarding what happened to you earlier this year and the investigation's results so far."

"There's been news?"

Sirius shrugged.

"I do not know, but I'm sure everything will be explained to you tonight. Harry can go with you if you want to."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Hermione. Now, has my dear little godson asked…?"

Harry took her hand, tugging it lightly.

"Come on Hermione, or we'll be late for Snape's class and you know how much he likes lateness."

She smiled at him.

"I've never seen you that eager to go to chemistry… any reason?"

"None whatsoever. If you except escaping from a nosy godfather."

Hermione let herself be dragged away, chuckling.

It was with some trepidation that Hermione headed to Dumbledore's office after dinner.

She knocked on the door timidly.

"Enter."

She made her way inside, Harry on her heels.

"Miss Granger, Mr Potter, please take a seat. I'm sure you remember Inspector Moody and Inspector Shacklebolt?"

Both teen nodded.

"This is Special Agents Nymphadora Tonks and Darryl Penn. They have been dealing with The Riddle case for quite a few years."

Hermione eyed the electric-blue-haired woman sitting by a man that seemed quite common by comparison.

"Happy to meet you."

The young woman racked her hand through her violently blue hair.

"I wish it was under better circumstances, Miss Granger."

"We all do, Special Agent Tonks," stated Hermione.

"Well, Miss Granger, we led an in-deep search of your room after your belongings were taken out. We managed to find the reason that had Tom Riddle so eager to have you leave that room. We succeeded in recovering around 300 kg of various drugs packed and hidden in the walls and under the floorboards," started Tonks.

"But more importantly, we recovered several files regarding a lot of his dealings and his accomplices. This allowed us to take a huge leap in our investigation and made it so we now have enough evidence to issue an international warrant against him."

Hermione shot a worried look.

"Am I in danger, won't he be angry all of this was found and try to get his revenge?"

Penn shook his head.

"No. You were never directly involved in the investigation. You were not the one to discover his cache. He has no reason to go after you. Miss Hedgecombe however will be put in a witness' protection program until we catch Riddle and his trial is over."

Shacklebolt smiled at Hermione.

"Her parents wanted to thank you again for not pressing charges against her."

Harry squeezed her hand to comfort her.

"She is being punished enough as it is…"

"It was kind of you nonetheless, Miss Granger."

"And what will be done about Riddle?" she asked.

The four people shared a look before Inspector Moody spoke up.

"You both understand that these pieces of information must remain secret. Riddle is currently hiding in Romania. Our informants have been keeping a close eye on his dealings and his movements. We have been negotiating with the Romanians to extradite him once he is arrested. Now that the warrant has been issued we are going to move quickly to prevent him from escaping us and going underground. If all goes well, you should hear of his arrest on the news in the coming days."

Hermione nodded.

Dumbledore spoke, his eyes twinkling.

"That's great news, inspectors, Special Agents. However might I be right to assume you'll leave some of your people to watch the school?"

Moody nodded.

"Indeed. Even if we leaked through the underground that Riddle's cache was found and everything was taken. We can not guaranty that there is no risk of him sending some men… If he does we will catch him."

"Good, good…" said Dumbledore with twinkling eyes. "Was there anything else?"

Shacklebolt shook his head.

"Not really, except if Miss Granger has any questions. We mainly came to keep you and her apprised of the evolution of the situation."

Hermione looked pensive.

"There's only one thing I'd like to know. Why this year? He hasn't been looking for all those things for years. Why now?"

Shacklebolt smiled a little.

"A very valid question. It's the direct results of all the efforts of the policies and various agencies in six countries. It allowed the infiltration and the dismantlement of his organisation at the start of this year, thus forcing him to flee to Romania and hide there. He has been trying to reorganize everything but needed funds. Here was one of the various caches of drugs and other illegal merchandises across Europe."

"So it was a simple coincidence then…"

Tonks nodded.

"Yes, an unfortunate one for you, but a simple coincidence."

"Thank you, I think it's better if I don't know more. I just want to forget about this whole thing."

Penn offered a small sad smile.

"I can understand that, Miss. Should you ever wish it, a psychological help is available to you."

Hermione looked at Harry who was caressing her hand in a soothing manner.

"I've been talking with my friends. They've been helping me a lot."

"Friends are sometimes the best medicine there is," said Dumbledore. "Well, I won't keep you any longer, I'm sure you both have a lot of things to do."

Hermione and Harry stoop up and shook hands with the two inspectors and the two Agents, bidding them a good day before exiting the Headmaster's office. They quietly made their way to a study room where their friends were waiting for them for some late studying as their exams were coming soon after Phoenixia's presentation.

The next day was spent in a flurry of last-minute rehearsals and fittings. Hermione was dragged from the main auditorium, to some smaller rehearsal rooms, to the fitting rooms along with Ginny.

It was an exhausted ballerina that slumped on her bed straight after dinner. She had only seen Harry during the rehearsals they shared. He and Ginny were still working as McGonagall had not been satisfied with one of their lift and had wanted to go over it again, even though the woman knew both of her pupils could perform it in their sleep…

She made a quick call to her parents to reassure them and make sure they would be there tomorrow before getting changed and going to bed, her stomach fluttering with nerves.

oO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°Oo

She was woken up by her alarm-clock's beeping. She sat up abruptly, remembering what day it was. Taking a deep breath, she got up and changed into a simple tee-shirt and a pair of shorts. She grabbed a bottle of water and an apple before heading for the stairs.

Harry was waiting for her on the first floor.

"Hi,"

"Hi, Harry." She pecked him on the lips.

"That's not a kiss Miss Granger." He grabbed her chin and kissed her. "Now, that's a proper good morning kiss."

Hermione stepped back, laughing at his smug look.

"Come on Casanova, let's burn some of that energy."

They both walked out of the building hand in hand, talking quietly. They had both agreed not to jog that day but stretch and use relaxing exercises, not wanting to risk an injury on this particular morning.

The whole graduation class had been given the day off. Hermione and all her friends had agreed to spend the day together. By 3 pm., they were all to report to the main auditorium were the ballet would be performed for a last briefing then the afternoon would be spent with the make-up and hair-dressing teams as well as the costumiers. The students would also set themselves up in their rooms. All the leads and first roles had a single room; the secondary roles were two a room. The corps de ballet had been given a room for five people.

The morning passed quickly. Hermione read a book, her head on Harry's lap while he played on his DS. Ron and Draco played several games of chess before taking out their DS and playing games with Harry. Ginny and Padma spent their time reading various magazines, trying from time to time to get Hermione to participate to no avail. She had enough clothes already and her graduation dress was already bought and waiting in her wardrobe. A fact she knew was also true for her friends.

Finally they all found themselves seated in the auditorium, listening to McGonagall, Dumbledore and several other teachers.

"Mesdemoiselles, Messieurs, I'm sure you do not want to listen to an old man's ramble, so I will keep this short then leave the stage to your professors for some last minute advice. I will start by saying that Phoenixia will be performed once more a week after the Gala's for hospitalized children as well as members of the regional dance schools. I thank you for your response to this project and I'm sure the children will appreciate it as well"

He looked over his audience, his eyes twinkling.

"I'm sure you all know how important this performance might be for you so I won't put more pressure on your shoulders. Know that you are ready. You have been taught by some of the finest dancers and choreographs and no matter what you achieve, be proud of having graduate from one the premiere dance schools."

"I'm certain that you will delight us tonight and I'm quite impatient to see you on stage. Make Hogwarts proud by showing everyone your skills, your dedication, the pleasure you have to dance as well as the artists you've become."

He paused for a few seconds.

"Finally, I'll end this on those famous words: Break a leg"

Scattered applauses were heard through the auditorium, most of the youth too stressed to really be amused by the man.

Then McGonagall, Black, Lupin, Sinistra and Flitwick each came up to give some last pieces of advice and wish their students luck. The corps de Ballet was sent to the small auditorium for some light routine work under Sinistra's and Flitwick's watchful eyes. All the secondary roles were sent to a studio with Black and Lupin.

"Weasley, Granger, Malfoy, Potter."

The four looked at the Deputy Headmistress who gave them a thin smile.

"Go change and be on stage in five, we'll be doing some stretching, warm up and some small routine work."

They all nodded and hurried back stage.

Five minutes later they were ready and awaiting their teacher's orders.

For the first twenty minutes, she had them laying down, doing several exercise to have them concentrating on their bodies.

Then it was half an hour of stretching to slowly warm all of their muscles, first laying down, then, sitting up to end standing up. The next hour was spent doing some short routines, going over a few lifts one last time. At 5 pm, they were all ushered backstage to their rooms. First they took a shower then checked that all their costumes were ready. The girls were then sent to the hair dressers after having put on clothes they could get off without disturbing their hair-do. Meanwhile the boys were told to relax a bit. A light dinner was brought to their rooms around half past six and they all met with Ron and Padma to eat. Then Hermione, Ginny, Harry and Draco were sent to the make up teams. The boy also had their hair styled at the same time.

Hermione and Ginny chatted quietly as two women applied foundation, blush, eyeliner and various other products on their faces.

Ginny's fiery hair had been brought back in an elaborate bun with tiny plaits weaved all around. For the first act, a crown of fake white flowers was fixed firmly on her head.

Hermione also had the flower crown, though hers were blue, but her hair was done in two large plaits using some extension to get enough length. The plaits were twisted together to form some sort of bun on the nape of her neck.

Once their make-up was done, they left their place to Cho and Lavender and went to put on their first costume, readying everything in their room for their changes of costumes and accessories. People would be there to help them but they had been told to have everything set up.

They then went upstage to warm up. The inner and outer curtains were both closed. Slowly they stretched using some of the exercises McGonagall had them do earlier. They were joined by Harry Draco and Ron, Padma being still in the hand of the make-up teams.

Too soon for Hermione's tastes, the spectators started to fill the auditorium if the noise was any indication. She and Harry were finishing their last warm-up routine and the young man couldn't help but see how nervous the young ballerina was.

He took her hand.

"Relax Hermione; I'm sure you could dance that ballet in your sleep. You'll be great. If I didn't know you any better I'd say you were fishing for compliment."

Hermione frowned then sighed.

"I know I can dance this, Harry. But I'm not sure I can make people feel…"

Harry squeezed her hand, bringing his face close to hers.

"If you mess up my make up minutes before the start, Claudia and Jennifer will have your head."

Harry smiled.

"With such a threat, I'm not going to try." He gave her hand a last squeeze before letting it go. "Seriously though, you will be wonderful. Just open yourself and follow the music. Ok?"

Hermione shot him a small smile, her stomach doing a strange flip.

"Ok."

A light ringing echoed backstage signalling that only five minutes were left till the start of the Premiere. Everyone left the stage, the dim light went off leaving the stage in the dark.

Hermione and Ginny both waited on the left side, listening as Dumbledore made a short speech to open the night and then the music started and Harry entered the stage.

The night passed in a twirl of music and colour. Hermione didn't even have the time to get nervous. As she, along with Ginny, Draco and Harry, performed the last series of jumps and lifts, her and Draco stopping first, leaving Harry and Ginny to finish alone, surrounded by the whole cast, she realised that she could do it.

As Harry and Ginny finished, the last seconds of the music dieing in everyone's ear, she smiled as thunderous applauses broke through the auditorium.

The lights went of and all the leads and secondary roles went backstage, leaving the corps de Ballet in a triangular disposition on stage.

Lights came back full on and the applauses increased as Dumbledore presented the corps de Ballet as a whole and then called the roles one by one.

"Hermione Granger in the role of Elysa and Draco Malfoy in the role of Thoran!"

Loud applauses welcomed them and increased as they respectively curtsied and bowed, Draco making her twirl to the right to exchange places and salute once more. They stepped back, leaving Dumbledore introduce Ginny and Harry, both were met this deafening applauses as they saluted the audience before coming to stand next to Draco and Hermione.

Dumbledore stepped forwards.

"Well, well, well, a marvellous night, thanks to all those young and promising dancers. I think they all deserve to be applauded once more." He smiled as the spectators followed him.

"I will also thank…." The man started on the thanking list, waiting each time for the applauses to decrease. Hermione's hands were going numb with all the clapping as Dumbledore came to the end.

"And lastly I will thank you public!"

Hermione clapped harder.

After a few more words, Dumbledore warned everyone that they would all be able to discuss with the dancers in the Main hall where refreshments and some food would be served.

The curtain fell. Hermione felt her heart soar as she watched the heavy velvet move, closing her vision of the audience.

This was her dream come true.

They all hurried back stage, getting out of their costumes and into some formal wear. Hermione wore a simple though flattering little black dress. A set of pearl earrings and necklace and high heels completed the outfit.

They all kept their make-up, not having the time to get it off and Hermione was thankful that it wasn't too extravagant.

Harry was waiting for her in a black pair of pants, a deep green dress shirt and black dress shoes.

"Looking smart."

He pecked her on the lips.

"Looking good. Come one, the others will meet us in the Hall."

He took her hand, nearly dragging her to the Hall.

"Slow down, you're going to make me trip!"

He shot her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, my parents were there tonight. Didn't yours come?"

Hermione laughed.

"They did. However they won't disappear if we do not get to the Great Hall in the minute."

Harry smiled and kept walking to a more sedate pace. They finally reached the Hall which was crowded and echoing with talks.

As they stepped in Hall, Hermione could feel many eyes turning to them. She looked down, feeling very self-conscious. As Harry squeezed her hand she looked up.

"Look up and smile, Mione. It's your moment of glory, so smile and enjoy it."

She rolled her eyes.

"Glory-hound"

Harry chuckled and steered her through the hall, pointing some people as they headed towards his parents.

"Harry!"

Lily Potter hugged her son tightly, smiling widely.

"You were fantastic!"

James nodded.

"You've got even better, son, we're both very proud of you."

Harry flushed a little, much to Hermione's amusement.

"Thanks, but you know that I had already worked on that role before…" he said before quickly changing of subject. " You both remember Hermione, my girlfriend?"

Lily nodded, her smile deepening.

"Of course I do, you were marvellous. Harry told me you also practiced Kalia's role?"

Hermione blushed.

"Thank you Mrs. Potter…"

"Tatata, Lily, dear."

"Lily. And yes, Ginny and I have learnt each other's role."

"And we'll perform Phoenixia again with some role's switches after the Gala," added Harry.

James chuckled.

"We know; Albus came to us about it. As it is for a good cause we agreed to lend the school the original costumes for this ballet as well as help pay for the transport of some children."

They talked for a few more minutes before Hermione's parents came to congratulate her. The Potters stepped back a little to give them some privacy.

"How are you Harry?"

"Fine Mum, everything is going fine."

"Have your choices changed since last time?"

Harry shook his head.

"Not for the main choices. There are a few modifications I'd like to make but nothing major."

James smiled.

"Good. We will send the offers as soon as the graduation's results are out." He shot Harry a mischievous smile to his son. "So Hermione was just a friend?"

"You're never going to let me live this down, aren't you?"

His father shook his head.

"Not even your dreams."

"She really bloomed into wonderful dancer. Are you sure about her? What if you two don't work out?" asked Lily worriedly.

Harry gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry Mum. We are both mature enough and both love dance enough to be able for my project to work out."

Lily still looked a little dubious, but knew her son was stubborn and would not change his mind over this.

"Well, then you know you'll have our support."

"I know. That aside, did you enjoy the ballet?"

Both Lily and James nodded enthusiastically but didn't get to tell him as Hermione came back, her parents following her.

"Harry, Mrs. ..." Hermione paused seeing Lily's pointed look. "I mean Lily, James, this is my parents. Mum, Dad, these are Harry's parents, Lily and James Potter.

Both couple greeted the other, Harry a bit uncomfortable as Hermione's Dad stared at his and Hermione's intertwined hands.

However Hermione's mum didn't have such reservations.

"So we finally meet the infamous boyfriend, though it's not as if we didn't know you, young man." She hugged him.

"Thank you so much. I've never seen my Hermione so happy," she whispered in his ear.

"My pleasure," he whispered back.

She drew back and went to Lily, both women starting to talk.

Harry turned to look at Hermione only to be face with her father. He handed him his hand.

"Nice to see you tonight, sir."

Mr Granger eyed him as he took his hand in a strong hold and shook it.

"I was looking forwards to see the young man that Hermione chose to date... and who transformed her so much." he stated calmly.

"I think you're giving me too much credit, sir."

"Let me be the judge of that. So what do you do besides dancing?"

Harry looked at him, an innocent smile on his lips.

"Dancing?"

Mr Granger looked at him, stunned for a few seconds before laughing.

"You dancers. Not one to make up for the other."

That broke the ice and the evening passed quickly.

Hermione had been talking with Padma and Oliver about the companies present when she felt someone tapped her lightly on her shoulder. She turned around, surprised.

"Victor!"

The Bulgarian smiled as they both hugged each other.

"Hello, Hermione. You were wonderful tonight."

She let him go with a smile.

"I didn't know you were coming!"

"Mr. Dumbledore invited me and Fleur as we helped with its casting. You made a great Elysa."

Hermione blushed.

"Thank you Victor. And you how are you?"

"I'm fine. My company is leaving for New York for a five months stay and then will go on a tour."

"That's great."

"It is."

They both fell silent.

"So you and Harry?"

Hermione looked down, embarrassed.

"He's been wonderful."

"I'm glad. You deserve it."

Hermione didn't know what to say.

"Thank you, Victor."

Before she could say more, she felt a hand slip in hers.

"Good evening Victor."

The Bulgarian smiled.

"Hi Harry. You were as good as usual."

"I heard about your company, congratulations."

Victor raked his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, it's quite the opportunity."

He looked at the both of them.

"Well, I wish you both the best. Good luck on your project, Harry."

The young dancer laughed.

"Let me guess, my parents?" Seeing Victor nod, he laughed again. "My mom never learnt how to keep a secret."

Victor joined in his laughter.

"True, though I think she's just very proud of you."

Hermione looked from one boy to the other.

"I think I missed an episode there."

Harry shook his head.

"You'll learn about it soon enough."

"Harry!"

The young dancer turned along with his friend to see several flashes going off as Emily and Jonathan walked to them.

Emily hugged Harry, kissing him on his cheek before greeting Hermione and Viktor as Jonathan nodded to them in greeting.

"Both of you were wonderful."

"Thank you, Emily. Glad to know you enjoyed it and you Jonathan?"

The actor smiled a little.

"Well, I don't know much about ballet, but I enjoyed your performance."

"Was it your first ballet?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, I'll admit I'm not that much a classical person, I'm more into the more modern pieces."

As Hermione and Jonathan both started to talk about the latest productions, Emily shot a smug look at her ex.

"I told you so."

Harry shot her a small glare.

"I don't know what you are talking about Emily."

She rolled her eyes.

"Everything turned out for the better, didn't it?"

"Yeah, though if you told me this a few months ago I wouldn't have agreed." He paused then spoke up again, changing of subject.

"I heard you were signed for a new movie."

"Two in fact. Jonathan's next movie about Louis XIV, I got Mme de Montespan's role. We'll start filming in a year. Then I was also signed for a medical thriller dealing with genetic manipulations. I started the rehearsal and stunt training two weeks ago."

"Looks like you'll be busy."

"Yeah, but no more than you."

"Not you too!" said Hermione, having heard Emily's last words. "First Viktor, now you! Stop talking in riddles!"

They all laughed and talked about the ballet for a few more minutes before being approached by other people.

For Hermione, the evening was a whirl of colours and faces. She met many company directors that complimented her on her performance and asked her what she was planning.

It was well past midnight when she entered her bed, her mind still reeling from all the night's happenings. It would take her a long time to fall asleep.

oO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°OoO°Oo

The Gala came and passed. The graduating class presented several extracts from Sleeping Beauty as well as several original pieces. As usual the critics were all enthusiastic about the new graduates and were already taking bets on who would go to which company. Hermione hadn't been able to stop blushing for a day as several magazines wrote about her and a few other Hogwarts' girls.

Another good piece of news had been the arrest of Tom Riddle in Romania in a large international sweep made possible by the cooperation of the law enforcement offices of various countries. He was currently waiting in a detention center in Romania for the extradition procedures to be transfered to England were he was going to be trialed.

The exam's results had gone out two days ago and the celebrations had been wild. To nobody's surprise, Hermione had earned the first place.

Currently, Hermione was alone on one of the small practice rooms, going over some routines. While the academic subjects were done and over with, the main dance lessons had been maintained. None of the graduating dancers could afford not to practice regularly.

She was working on her pointe work at the barre when Ginny entered the room, a stack of letters in her hand.

"Hermione, come on, we've all got mail to look through."

Hermione frowned as she went through a series of lancés.

"Who would write me?"

"Companies, you ninny! You know, the offers we've been waiting for a few weeks now?"

Hermione frowned.

"I thought they wouldn't come till the end of the week."

"I'm sure all they were waiting for were the official results. So you're coming?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Go on, I'll finish and meet you all later on."

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Workaholic. I'm leaving yours here," she said, putting several envelopes on the floor before leaving the room.

Hermione held out for five minutes before her resolve broke and she rushed to pick the letters up before going to sit up and opening them while stretching.

All in all she had received seven offers among them one from Victor's company. She quickly read through them, knowing she would go other those more in depth later but being too giddy upon seeing that seven companies wanted her.

Finally she opened the last one and gasped, reading it with wide eyes. She looked up as Ginny burst back into the room.

"Hermione! Did you?!" She spotted the letter in her friend hand. "So you got one too. I can't believe he didn't tell us about this before!"

Hermione shook her head slowly, trying to clear it.

"Do you think it's serious?"

Ginny sat down next to her.

"I think it is. This is from his parents' company and I don't think he would pull something like this on us, not if he wanted to live to his 20th birthday."

"He's offered you a prima spot too?"

"He did, from what I get, I think he wants to create two groups that will be able to tour at the same time and have a pool of dancers available in case of injury or other problems."

Hermione sighed.

"I need to talk to him."

She stood up and placed all the letters in her bag before walking out of the room, Ginny watching her with a frown.

Hermione walked quickly up to the dorms, knowing he would be there. She knocked on the door and waited for him to let her in.

She went to sit on his bed and waited for him to settle next to her. She handed him the letter.

"Is this serious Harry?"

He took her hand.

"It is. It was one of the reasons I came to Hogwarts. I wanted to create my own company but I needed talented people my own age or close to that I could live and work with."

Hermione looked back to the letter in her hand. Harry carried on his explanations.

"I want a company with two core groups that will be able to tour with added dancers depending on the pieces we perform."

"That's why you also asked Ginny and Draco."

"Yes."

Hermione looked up.

"Answer me truly Harry. Did the fact that we're going out influenced your choice?"

Harry shook his head, smiling at her.

"I knew you would ask that. I want you in my company because I think you are a very gifted dancer and I know you'll be a real asset to any company. And I know I'm not the only one to think so. Victor and Fleur both told me their directors would send you and offer." He could see by her small frown that she didn't completely believe him.

"But if you really want to be sure, I handed my choice to my parents before we started to go out. You can ask them it you want."

Hermione sighed, twirling a strand of hair with her fingers.

"I don't know what to think, Harry…"

Harry pecked her on the lips.

"Take your time, review all your offers; discuss it with the others, your parents and the teachers. I want you to make the choice that you think is the best for you. Integrating a newly formed company is a risk, moreover when you have plenty of known companies offering you a spot. You have to be sure of what you want."

Hermione nodded, still looking deep in thought.

She stood up.

"I'll go do that. I'll see you later for Sirius' lesson?"

Harry laughed.

"Like I would live it down if I missed it."

She kissed him and left quietly straight for her room.

She had a lot of thinking to do.

She spent the whole day thinking about what Harry said and about the different offers she had received. She compared the pros and cons of each made comparative lists to try to make a decision. She couldn't however get Harry's words out of her head.

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin's lesson ended before she knew it.

"Miss Granger?"

She turned to face Harry's godfather.

"Mr. Black?"

"Can I speak with you?" He turned to look at Harry smiling. "I'll give her back, Harry, don't worry. Now shoo!"

Harry shot her a worried glance. She smiled at him, making shooing motions and watched as he left with Draco.

Mr. Black looked back at her after having sent an amused smirk his godson's way.

"You seemed distracted, Miss Granger. Is there a problem?"

Hermione sighed, noticing that the other professor was also listening.

"Well… We just received offers from different companies…"

Sirius smiled.

"I'm sure you were quite solicited."

She nodded.

"I was… It's just… Did you know Harry was here to find dancers for his own company?" She blurted the last part without really thinking.

Sirius went serious.

"So, that's what is troubling you. Yes, I knew. His parents told me and Remus to keep an eye on him and make sure his choices were good ones."

Hermione looked down.

"I just don't know. He offered me a place within his company, but I'd like to be sure it is not because we're going out… And what if we don't work out?"

Sirius let out a small laugh.

"Rest assured on that point. That boy had you on his list early on and he handed his final list to his parents before asking you out."

Hermione perked up at that.

"Really?"

Sirius shook his head to emphasize his words.

"Really, really. And about what would happen should you not work out… well I think you and him need to talk about it. So I'll leave you to it, won't I?" She frowned confused but then noticed Harry standing in the doorway and blushed.

Sirius and Remus both left, the former winking at his godson on his way out.

Harry stepped in and walked to Hermione's side.

"I thought you left with Draco."

Harry looked down, flushing a little.

"Well… I wanted to know how you were feeling about all of this…"

"You could have asked."

"I didn't want to push you, Hermione."

She shifted her bag, a bit embarrassed.

"I… er… I didn't know how to…"

"Hermione. As Sirius told you I gave my parents the list of the people I was interested in way before we started going out. There wasn't any favouritism involved if you think that being asked to join a forming company is a privilege that is."

Hermione frown did not fade.

"But what if we break up? What will happen then?"

Harry took her hand.

"I think that both of us are professional enough so that no matter what happen we'll still be able to work and dance together. If things really get that bad, there would be nothing stopping us from creating a third unit, though I don't think it will come to that."

Hermione looked in his eyes before nodding.

"Alright, I'll hold you to that, Harry."

He raised an eyebrow.

"That means that…"

"I'll be joining you."

"Are you sure? This isn't as great an offer as I'm sure other companies made."

"That's for me to decide, Harry. Who else did you asked to join you?"

Harry flushed a little.

"Well, you, Ginny, Draco, Terry, Cho, Oliver, Cedric, Padma, Ron, Luna, Nathan, Jennifer…"

Hermione kissed him on his cheek.

"Well, we'll not be bored at least. Now come one. The others must be wondering where we are."

They left the room hand in hand, switching the light off, both looking forwards their futures and what it would bring.


	12. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize

A/N: Well, here it is. This is the End of Dance! Just this short epilogue to close the story. I hope you enjoyed reading the story. The end might be a bit rushed, but I didn't want to develop it in a deeper story. It wasn't the point.

Anyway, thanks to all of you readers and for all the reviews, it kept me going when I wanted to call it quits

Naia

**Epilogue**

In a large room, on the first floor of a manor house in Scotland, two people could be seen waltzing gracefully on one of the famed tunes of a Strauss Waltz.

The walls of the room were covered with posters in various languages announcing the performances of the Potter Ballet Company all over the world: New York City, Paris, Roma, Bonn, Berlin, Hamburg, Sydney, Moscow, Washington, London, Madrid, Los Angeles, Vienna, Boston, Tokyo, Beijing, Chicago, Stockholm… and many others.

The start of the company had been a bit rocky as everyone tried to find his place. In the end, Cedric and Oliver both refused to join to accept offers from other companies. The others however agreed to join Harry in his project. Lavender and Parvati had been a bit miffed at not having been asked to join, but quickly consoled themselves as they were offered second dancers spot in well known company, Parvati gaining the first dancer spot a few years later.

The newly formed Potter Ballet company worked for a year on an original ballet using the number 7. The premiere took place in London and was the start of a series of sold out performances and the beginning of its success.

The music came to an end and both dancers twirled one last time before stopping and waiting for the next track to start waltzing again.

Both were still fit and only the wrinkles on their face and the grey in their hair attested to their sixty years of age. They passed before a table where pictures of friends and family were laid out.

Despite a break up, they had gotten back together and married. Sebastian was their first son and followed in their footsteps. He took over the company when his parents decided to retire. Hermione's second pregnancy was difficult and Jade's birth even more. The doctors strongly advised against another one. Jade quickly showed an affinity for the cello and joined the London Symphony Orchestra.

Draco and Ginny had married and had three children: a girl Deborah that had joined Sebastian's company, Lucian who had much to his grandfather followed the latter's footsteps and was a member of the Parliament. Their last son, Nathan had just finished his residency and was setting his practice as a paediatrician.

Ron had never settled down, to his mother's disappointment and Padma had married a French dancer she met during Charity Gala.

As they waltz, Harry let Hermione's hand go to push a strand of her hair that had fallen from her bun back. Taking her hand once more, he twirled her around before falling back into the soothing 1-2-3 pattern of the waltz.

"Ready for the school year to start again?" he asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You ask me the question every year, Harry, or should I say Headmaster?"

Harry looked down.

"I do not know what Remus was thinking when he gave me the job."

"Harry, you were one of the most popular teachers in Hogwarts. It was only logical to hand you the job when he decided to retire."

"That and I get to boss you around."

"Really Mr Potter."

"Really Mrs Potter." He said, twirling her again to block her against his chest and leaning to kiss her lightly on her lips.

"You really want to sleep on the couch, I see."

"You wouldn't do that to this old man's body."

"I thought you could boss me around…"

Harry laughed, letting her go and leading her through the last minute of the music.

As the last second of music died, they bowed and curtsied to the other before Harry went to switch off the disc player. Hermione walked to the large window overlooking the garden.

She turned her head as she felt Harry's arms snake around her waist.

"We've had a good life, haven't we? Great friends, a wonderful family which might get bigger if the hints Jade has been throwing around are to believe."

"I'll need to talk to Pierre…"

"Shush, I want grandchildren while I can enjoy them."

"We've still got many years, Mione. But you forgot something essential."

"What?"

He smiled at her. "Dancing."

THE END


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